When Hell Comes After You
by Iryann
Summary: AU. Dean is a detective in a small town. When Lucifer escapes prison, his friend Castiel finds himself in terrible danger, and Dean will have to do what he can to protect him from his psychotic brother. No slash.
1. Apple Pie

A beeping sound pierced through Dean's clouded mind, signaling the beginning of a new day. With a groan, he reached over to his bedside table, feeling blindly for the alarm clock until he finally managed to turn it off. Heaving a sigh, he lied back again, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, waiting for his vision to clear.

After a few minutes, he forced himself to sit up and looked out the window by his bed, running a hand through his short hair with a long yawn. Mumbling tiredly, he stepped out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.

"God, I hate Mondays."

He didn't stay long in the shower. He only allowed himself that luxury when he was off duty, which was mostly on the weekends – not even. Glancing down at his watch, he nodded to himself. Still had an hour to spare. He smiled. More than enough time to get some nice coffee before Bobby called him with new promises of kicking his ass.

He put on his usual clothes; jeans, undershirt and open button up shirt. Not like he needed to wear his uniform in such a small town. Everyone knew him anyway. Dean's father had worked for the town's police department as well, and he'd been adamant his son followed his example. Not that Dean had ever thought of doing any different. He'd always dreamt of being a police officer. His younger brother, however…he'd managed to slip past their father's tight grip and actually succeeded in becoming a lawyer. Ah, Sammy…his pigheaded little brother. Dean never quite mentioned it to him, but he was actually very proud of the Sasquatch. The few tears that had misted his eyes during Sam's graduation were to stay a secret between Dean and his manly pride. He snorted.

Finally ready, and clearing the thoughts from his mind with a smile and a shake of his head, he grabbed his gun and badge and swiftly made it out the door. His girl shined beautifully under the morning sun. One of the good things of working in a small town was that he got to use his own car, because everyone knew everyone there, and it wasn't like anyone else owned a black '67 Impala. When Dean drove down the road, the people knew who he was. Detective Dean Winchester. Didn't sound bad, did it? Wasted talent, according to the many people who had tried to hire him in bigger (and better, as they saw it) cities. But Dean loved his hometown, and working anywhere else just wouldn't be the same.

As he drove down the familiar road, he finally found his destiny. Now, one other thing about living in a small town was that, after some time, people got used to your schedule…and Dean always went to the same place every morning: Gabriel's Café, on Enochian Street. The guy might talk like he had four mouths, but his apple pie was fucking delicious. Parking his baby at his usual spot, Dean walked through the door, a small bell informing everyone inside of his arrival.

"Deano!" Gabriel's voice reached him from behind the counter, and he looked over to see the short man straighten up, making himself visible, his usual grin on his face. "I thought you'd gotten tired of my pie."

"You might be annoying as hell, Gabe," he grinned back, "But your apple pie's still a gift to my mouth."

Gabriel put a hand to his chest, his face scrunched up in mock pain, "You hurt me, Winchester. I thought we were friends." Dean chuckled, sitting on a stool with a sigh.

"Only as long as you keep the pie comin', man." He clicked his tongue, "That was the deal."

Gabriel sighed dramatically, placing a plate with delicious looking apple pie in front of him, "Ah, well, one does what one can." The man's lips curled up into his usual smile while Dean closed his eyes in bliss as he brought a piece of pie to his mouth. "So, what's the verdict, boss?"

Dean hummed, nodding as he chewed and swallowed, already going for another piece, "Yup. We're still friends." Gabriel laughed.

"Good." He raised an eyebrow, "Coffee?"

Dean nodded, too lost in the taste of his Heavenly treat to bother with any other response. The pie maker chuckled, walking to the coffeemaker while the detective finished his pie.

"So," he started, placing a steaming cup in front of Dean and leaning on the counter, hand on his chin. "Any bad guys that need spanking lately?"

Dean breathed out, playing distractedly with the few crumbs left on his plate as he reached out for the mug, "Nope. All calm and boring so far." He looked up into the dark golden eyes of the shorter man, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee, "How about you?" He hissed slightly as the coffee burnt his tongue, letting out a breath before bringing the cup to his lips again, "Anything new 'round here? You tried those weird muffins you'd been rambling about?"

Gabriel breathed out a chuckle, "Actually, my little brother's coming over to live here."

Dean raised his eyebrows, letting the mug down on the counter, "You got a brother?"

The man smirked, but somehow, it didn't reach his eyes, "Four, actually. And a little sister."

Dean frowned, "Wow. How come I've never seen them before?"

"Well, for starters, they've never been here." He made a face, "You know the deal, family all tight and close, all working for the family business…" he popped a cookie from the pocket of his apron into his mouth, "I guess I'm the only one that was weird and wanted to get a life of my own."

Dean winced sympathetically, not saying anything for a minute as he stared at the black surface of his coffee, "So, this brother of yours," he looked up at him, "He tired of the tight family life too?"

Gabriel's eyes were dark with worry, and while he was still smiling, Dean recognized the expression in those golden eyes as one he'd seen on his own green ones when he looked in the mirror while thinking of Sam.

"Well, you could say he's going through a rough time." He ran a hand through his hazel brown hair, "I asked him to come down, and around the thirtieth time, he agreed." He sighed, "I'm…well, I'm kinda worried about him."

Dean felt sympathy form in his chest, something that he tended to do without even noticing. He hid it much better than Sam, at least. "How come? He in some kind of trouble or something?"

Gabriel's dark chuckle made Dean frown, "You could say that, yeah." his grin was dark when he looked at him, "Let's just say I would sleep much better if I could keep an eye on him. He's too naïve to take care of himself." He laughed, fondness warming his eyes in a way that Dean had never seen in his friend, "Guy's 32 and still thinks like a child sometimes, I swear."

Dean chuckled, "Yeah, Sam used to be that way before." After their father died, Sam had matured in ways that Dean wasn't sure he liked as much. Sometimes he missed his naïve little brother.

"How is he, by the way?" Gabe asked, "Sasquatch doesn't quite go for my "unhealthy treats", so I don't get to see him as much."

The detective laughed, "Still in love with salads, I'm afraid." Gabriel made a face, and he smiled, "He's doing pretty well, actually. Bought a house around a month ago with his girlfriend."

"Oooh," Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows, "So Sammy's no longer the solitary nerd of the family, huh?"

"Nope." He took a sip of his coffee, "Found himself a pretty awesome chick, the bastard."

Gabriel wiped a fake tear from his eye, "They grow up so fast…"

Dean grinned around his mug, and threw his crumbled napkin at the pie maker. Glancing down at his watch, his eyes widened slightly, "Shit!" he finished the rest of his coffee, reaching into his pocket to leave a few bills on the bar, "Gotta run. Bobby will have my ass if I'm late again."

The short man chuckled, "Ah, Chief Singer. There's a law enforcing figure you can count on."

"You keep laughing'," Dean warned, already walking towards the door, "But if he asks, I'll blame you."

"Well, he might not have told you this, but the old man actually loves my muffins as much as you love the pie." He clicked his tongue, "Afraid you're on your own, Deano."

Dean scowled, "Bastard." He opened the door before turning to the pie maker again, "Hey. When's your brother coming?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows at his question, "Today, actually. Why?"

He shrugged, "Just thought I might drive by later, get to know the guy. I'm sure he'd very much rather meet people who're not…" he grinned, "you know, _you_."

The pie maker gasped in mock hurt, "I resent that."

Dean laughed, giving him a mocking wave before walking out the door.


	2. Mr Trickster

"Alright," he groaned, stretching his back as he stood from his chair, "Gotta blaze."

"And just where do ya think you're going, ya idjit?" Bobby called from the door, "Your shift's not over 'til another half hour."

Dean turned to look at him with his trademark grin, "Andy's covering for me."

The old man shook his head, failing to suppress the small chuckle that left his mouth, "I swear, that kid admires you too much." He sent him a light glare, "One of these days he'll just do all your work while you're off flirting with the girls at the Roadhouse."

The detective's grin widened, "Aw, come on, Chief. You know I'd never skip work." He swung his jacket over his shoulder, "I'd miss you too much."

Bobby rolled his eyes, "Idjit," he grumbled, "Why are you in such a hurry anyway?"

Dean walked around the room, fitting his car keys and cell phone in his pocket as he made it to the door, "Told Gabe I'd drive by today. His little brother's coming over to live with him."

The Chief of police frowned; "_Brother_?" he raised his eyebrows, "Never knew he had any."

"You and me both," Dean replied as they walked toward the exit, "Apparently he's kind of worried about him. Said he'd been going through a rough time or something." He looked at Bobby, "Just thought I'd go over and meet the guy, you know?" he shrugged, "The way Gabe sounded…" he frowned, "It's gotta be something serious, Bobby." He sighed, "I've known the guy for years, and I've never seen him that worried."

Bobby nodded in understanding. He wasn't surprised by Dean's behavior; the boy had this tendency of making sure everyone was all right, even if he didn't know the person that well (or at all). Moreover, the fact that this was Gabriel's _younger_ brother made it almost something personal for Dean.

He sighed, coming to a stop as they reached the exit, "Alright. Just keep me posted." He gave him serious look, "Don't go and solve anythin' on your own, you hear me?"

"Roger that," Dean smiled, slapping the officer's shoulder before making it out the door.

* * *

Gabriel pushed the door open, dragging a suitcase behind him and waiting for his brother to follow. Castiel gave him a quiet thank you as he held the door for him, walking into the dark Café with another suitcase rolling behind.

The shorter man sighed, walking towards the door behind the counter that led to his apartment upstairs, "Come on, bro." He heard his brother's footsteps behind him.

As they reached the house, he tossed his keys on the table by the entrance, and lead Castiel to the guest room. "Home sweet home," he sung, trying to sound like his usual self; he knew his brother didn't like to see him sad. "I know it's not what you're used to, but at least it has a nice view, don't you think?" he grinned.

Castiel looked around, tired blue eyes taking in the single bed with dark covers and the large window. It looked over a park, now desert as children were still supposed to be in school. Gabriel knew how much he loved parks. A small smile tugged at his lips, and Gabriel felt his shoulders relax as Castiel gave him a grateful look, "Yes. Thank you, Gabriel."

"No need, Cassie," he laughed, feeling lighter as he saw Castiel frown at his old nickname, "What are brothers for?" he winked.

His little brother's shoulders shook with a soft chuckle, the stress lines on his face fading as he seemed to let himself relax. Gabriel felt himself smile in relief; he'd been worried he wouldn't be able to help Castiel. Luckily, his brother seemed much more open to his help this time than the last time he'd tried to help. He shuddered briefly at the memory.

Gabriel clapped his hands, bringing Castiel's eyes away from the window and towards him, "Alright! So, who's up for some pie?" he started walking down the hallway towards the front door, "Better yet," he chirped, turning around to send his brother a knowing grin, "How about some hot chocolate?"

Castiel's smile was more genuine this time, and Gabriel was brought back in time to the days when a much smaller Castiel followed him around, big blue eyes wide and face lit up in a smile as Gabriel took him to have a hot chocolate. It had become a ritual of sorts for them…before what happened shattered his little brother, and Gabriel ran away, leaving him behind, broken.

He pushed the dark memories away, forcing himself to keep his grin in place as he opened the door and led Castiel back down to the store.

Twenty minutes later, they sat at a table, each with a steaming mug of hot chocolate warming up their cold hands. They stayed like that, in a comfortable silence, for a little while before Gabriel decided to speak.

"A friend of mine might come over later to meet you," Castiel tilted his head slightly, and Gabriel smiled, "He's a nice guy, you'll like him." His brother smiled, taking a sip of his chocolate. Gabriel hesitated before adding, "He's a detective."

Castiel put the mug down, heaving a sigh, "Gabriel—" the shorter man raised his hands defensively.

"Don't worry." He assured, "I didn't tell him anything. Your past is safe with me, Cassie." Castiel's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his older brother, "He's just curious." Castiel raised an eyebrow, "He didn't know I had a brother and he's convinced that he'll be saving you from my annoying company if he comes over." He scoffed, "Imagine that. _Me. Annoying._" He nodded sadly, leaning back on his chair as though Castiel disagreed with the insult as well, "I know, right? I'm not annoying. Handsome, funny, a hell of a pie maker, but _annoying_?"

Castiel chuckled, "Clearly the man has been misled by your witty tongue, brother." There was a smirk on the younger man's features, and Gabriel's lips stretched into a Cheshire grin.

"How right you are, my dear brother." He responded, lifting his head with a melodramatic sigh, "Ah, these mortals. No respect whatsoever." Castiel laughed at this. When he was little, Gabriel would act like he was some sort of fantastical being… a _Trickster_ of sorts, always setting up pranks on their more serious brothers, and telling little Castiel about them later.

"My apologies, Mr. Trickster," he played along, "I shall inform the humans of this dreadful offence against your person immediately." In their games, Gabriel had decided that Castiel would be an angel. They still joked around about it from time to time…or used to.

"Alright, Feathers. No more making fun of the older brother." He chuckled, taking the last sip of his chocolate and noticing with a raised eyebrow that Castiel's mug was already cold and empty. "More chocolate?"

"Please." His brother pushed the mug towards him, a sheepish smile on his face.

A bell jingled from the entrance, and the brothers turned around to see a man walk in.

* * *

Dean paused as he reached the Café. The lights were dim inside, which meant the establishment was technically closed. Thinking that maybe he should just swing by in the morning, he started turning to his car.

The sound of muffled laughter stopped him. That was not Gabriel. So his brother had really come. If he was laughing already, that meant things weren't as bad, right? Somehow, the thought made his shoulders relax. Which was ridiculous, really.

_I mean, come on. I haven't even met the guy._

Dean sighed; his brother had once warned him of how he worried himself too much over other people…sometimes to the point of forgetting about himself.

_Well, I've come this far. Might as well say hi._

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside, eyes searching for the pie maker. Gabriel's face was smiling when he turned to look at Dean, two empty mugs in his hands and apparently with all purposes of getting a refill.

"Deano!" he cheered, "So, did the old man try to strangle you for leaving early?"

He chuckled, happy to see that Gabriel was behaving like his usual self, "Nah. I'll smuggle a couple bottles of good whisky for him and he'll love me again."

Gabriel's grin widened, motioning to the table where another man – his brother, Dean guessed – was already sitting. "Join us then. I was about to get my lil' bro a chocolate refill." He raised his eyebrows, "Coffee and pie?"

Dean smiled, "Sure." As Gabriel disappeared in the kitchen, he dragged another chair to the table, and was met with blue eyes. "Dean Winchester." He introduced himself with a grin, reaching a hand towards the man.

The guy eyed him with slight confusion, as though he didn't quite understand what he was supposed to do, but recovered pretty quickly, stretching Dean's hand with a confidence that – quite frankly – kind of surprised the detective. "Castiel Novak."

Wow. Talk about a voice that doesn't match the owner. Castiel's gruff voice was not quite what he'd expected, seeing how the man had sort of a…boyish face. Hiding his surprise, Dean flopped down on his chair.

"Castiel," he repeated, raising his eyebrows, "Religious family?"

Castiel's lips stretched into a small smile as he breathed out a quiet chuckle, "Almost to a scary point, yeah." He grinned, "Father has a thing for angel mythology. You might be able to guess what my brothers are called."

Dean grinned. He was starting to like Castiel already, "Lemme guess. The first one's Michael." Castiel smiled, and he pointed at the kitchen door with his thumb, "We have _The Messenger of God_ right there," He put a hand to his chin, "and…Raphael?"

The older man gave him an appraising smile, "Nice." He chuckled, "Didn't think you'd be so knowledgeable in the names of angels." He was clearly screwing with him.

Dean snorted, "I blame my nerd brother." He took off his jacket, hanging it on the chair, "Kid practically drove me crazy with his obsession with mythology when he was little."

Castiel's smile widened slightly, "He's your younger brother, I assume."

"Yup." He nodded, "He lives around here too, he just doesn't share our appreciation for your brother's awesome pies." The man laughed, and Dean felt his mission had been accomplished. Castiel was a good guy, and whatever it was that had forced him to come live with Gabriel, he seemed to be either already over, or just very good at hiding it. "So, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, huh? No chance you'd have a Lucifer in the family, right?" He joked.

Castiel's shoulders tensed, but he managed to keep a smile on his face, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. "No." he answered, "I'm afraid not."

Whatever it was that had suddenly affected Castiel, Dean knew better than to push, and immediately tried to move the conversation somewhere else, "So, how long are you planning on staying here?" The man relaxed slightly, leaning back on his chair.

"Well, Gabriel's pushing for me to just come live here," he shrugged, "And I'm sort of neutral on the matter." Dean nodded with a grin.

"You like drinking, Cas?" he asked. Castiel tilted his head, a gesture that Dean was already starting to recognize as confusion, "Alcohol. You're not a light weight, are you?"

"Actually, you'd be surprised." Gabriel's voice reached them from behind, and they turned to see him walking over with a tray with three steaming mugs and a plate with pie.

"Really?" Dean raised an eyebrow, glancing at Cas before turning his eyes at Gabriel, "Why's that?"

"Well, Cassie cat over here," Dean snorted, finding the glare that Cas directed his brother quite amusing, "Has a tolerance that could almost be described as non-human."

"Oh?" he grinned, "So I should definitely take him to the Roadhouse sometime, then."

Gabriel gasped, clearly intending to mock his brother, "Wow, bro. Dean's gonna take you socializing! Isn't that great?" Castiel's glare intensified, and Dean found himself laughing with Gabriel.

They talked for another hour or so, until it started getting dark outside. Dean was surprised to see just how different Castiel was from his brother. Not that he should have been _that _surprised, since he and Sam were not exactly two peas in a pot either. But it was just so…_amusing_ to see how obviously well they knew each other despite their differences. From what he understood, Cas was the more serious of the two, but at the same time, he had this _innocence_ about him, a sense of naïveté that made him seem like a child at times. Gabe, on the other hand, was all cynicism and sarcasm – although Cas did make a few sarcastic comments at times – and his extrovert personality was just radically different from Castiel's.

At times, however, Castiel's eyes would be slightly hazed, as though lost in a memory, and Gabriel's shoulders would tense, like he was waiting for Cas to break down right in front of him. It worried him, that Castiel might have had such a traumatic experience that even _Gabriel_ would show such concern.

By the time Dean finished his pie, they had slipped into a comfortable silence, resting their mouths after hours of talking. With a sigh, Dean looked down at his watch, surprised at the late hour.

"Well, I should get going." He dragged the chair back and stood, stretching his back, "Bobby's gonna kill me if I'm late again tomorrow." He said with a grin as he scratched the back of his neck.

"You coming for breakfast then?" Gabriel teased, "Or should I give your piece of pie to someone else?"

Dean pointed a threatening finger at him, eyes narrowed dangerously as he growled, "You do that, and I'll find your ass and toss it down the sewers, _Muffinman_." Castiel grinned, looking down to hide his amusement.

"Oh, no, please! Not the sewers!" Gabe was anything but scared, and Dean felt a grin tug his lips upward, finally giving up on the glare and clapping Gabriel hard on the back.

"Good man." He congratulated, finding it hard not to chuckle as he slipped his jacket on. "Alright, Cas." Blue eyes looked up to meet his, and Dean was glad the haunted look was gone from his eyes, "I'll see you around."

"Goodbye, Dean." He smiled, and Dean found himself returning the smile. It was weird, but the detective felt like he'd known the man for a long time, almost like they were friends already. He patted Cas's shoulder and walked towards the door.

"Peace out, gentlemen." He called, waving a hand in a military salute as he made it out the building.

* * *

Gabriel and Castiel watched through the window as Dean drove away.

"He called you Cas." Gabriel pointed out, as though he'd just noticed. He hadn't. The first time he'd heard Dean say it, he'd actually raised his eyebrows, surprised at the familiarity with which the detective talked to his brother.

"Yes." Castiel answered, obviously lost in thought. Gabriel watched him. His brother was not used to being treated in such a friendly way. The only ones that ever talked to him like that were him and…well, Anna. Everyone else treated him with the formality that came with being a member of the family. Whether it was employees or Michael and Raphael themselves, Castiel was treated and behaved with almost old school propriety. Something that Gabriel had always hated, and that Castiel had had to live with.

"You don't mind." It wasn't a question. In fact, Gabriel had noticed the moment Dean had called him Cas…his brother hadn't even flinched. It was as though he'd always gone by that name.

Castiel looked down, a small smile on his lips. "No." Blue eyes met Gabriel's dark golden ones, "I really don't."

Gabriel smiled, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle. That Winchester was really something. Maybe he was the kind of friend that Castiel needed to get over his past.

Maybe he wouldn't have to worry so much after all.


	3. Sheer Bloody Panic

_-10 months later__-_

Dean pushed the door of the Café open, feeling welcomed by the warm smell of pie, coffee and chocolate. It was snowing outside, and he'd just convinced Bobby to give him an early release for his Christmas vacation. Sam had gotten his a few days ago, and him and Jess wanted to meet up with him, Cas and the others at the Roadhouse. Said they had something to tell them, Dean snorted, Sam may be a freaking genius, but he was as subtle as a gun. It was about time those two got married anyway.

Looking around, he figured Gabe and Cas were in the kitchen or something, because they were nowhere to be seen, and judging by the people sitting around enjoying a warm cup of coffee, they were obviously open. It had come to him as a surprise when Castiel had started working at the Café. Not that it should have, really, it sort of made sense that he would want to help his brother out. What had really shocked him was the fact that Cas actually made a mean cup of coffee – better even than Gabe's, who was an awesome baker but tended to make coffee a tad too sweet – and he was quite the pie maker as well. He was better at making pound cake though, he smiled; Jessica had actually started dragging Sam into the bakery every few days after Dean made her try Cas's marble pound cake.

With a small smile, he sat at the first clear table he saw, waiting for either of the brothers to show up.

Everyone in the small town had taken a liking to Cas almost immediately. Sam enjoyed talking to him about books and history and mythology and all the crap that had always given his little brother an instant _nerdgasm_. Jessica _loved_ Cas, which was nothing short of hilarious in Dean's opinion; she'd often compare him to some sort of blue-eyed teddy bear and had more than once tackled him into a hug when poor Cas said something she considered _adorable_. He chuckled.

Jo and Ellen had sort of forcefully adopted Cas into the Roadhouse family. After Cas had surprised them all with his inhuman tolerance for alcohol – he'd beat _Ellen_, for fuck's sake –, Ellen had declared him her long lost son or something, and Jo had played along and announced herself as Castiel's sister. Ellen had even asked him to man the bar a few times, which was very unusual, and Cas hadn't disappointed. Even Ash, who practically lived at the Roadhouse, had come to see Cas as his _favorite drinking buddy_; the man had practically toppled over when Cas had answered a question about God knows what kind of mathematical formula and its applications to some weird computer program.

Andy and Chuck also seemed to think Cas was a pretty cool guy, although Dean had made sure the man didn't spend too much time around them. They guys were awesome, don't get him wrong, but he'd be damned if he let Cas get suckered into their weird obsession with that _fanfiction_ website. They got freaking scary when they discussed that crap.

What still came as a surprise to Dean though, was that Bobby, _Bobby Singer_, had warmed up to Cas pretty fast after meeting him a few times. He actually addressed him as one of the boys. Which, up to that point, had usually just been Sam and Dean. He'd never forget the bewildered and utterly confused look in Castiel's eyes as Bobby included him in his usual banter of _"You three boys better blah blah blah"_. Him and Sam had practically died laughing as soon as Bobby had left the room.

He thought back to the day he first met Cas; he hadn't changed much since then. He was still the more serious one of their little trio, but that haunted look in his eyes had faded into nothing as he slowly allowed himself to befriend the people of the town. Hell, Dean practically considered him his best friend, and they hadn't even known each other for that long.

His thoughts were interrupted as the bell at the door announced the arrival of a new customer. Looking over, he was surprised to see Gabriel walking in, his usual smirk not on his face as he shed his coat and walked over behind the counter, not even noticing the detective.

With a small frown, he stood up and went to the counter, leaning on his elbows. "Hey, Gabe." The shorter man startled, "What is it?" he was met with a fake grin as Gabriel tried to slip back into his normal self.

"Hi Dean." He greeted, "I see you've convinced the old man to let you free already." He put his apron on, popping a small cookie into his mouth as he avoided Dean's eyes and started busying himself with work. The fact that Castiel was still absent tied his stomach in an uncomfortable knot.

"Where's Cas?"

Gabriel paused, putting the pie in his hands down as he dropped the act. He sighed, "He's out back, at the park." Dean felt worry creep up his throat. That was Cas's favorite thinking spot. And judging by Gabriel's behavior, he couldn't be thinking of anything good at the moment. Nodding at the shorter man in thanks, he grabbed his old leather jacket from the back of his chair and walked out.

He found Castiel exactly where he'd known he would be. Sitting on a bench, his elbows on his knees as he stared at nothing in particular, unmoving, like a statue. He was wearing his thin trench coat, but he didn't seem to mind the cold. The sky was already darkening, and an old street lamp illuminated the bench where Castiel was sitting, making the scene almost surreal. Like Cas could disappear in front of his eyes at any given time.

Slowing down, he stepped up to the bench and sat down next to his friend, not even bothering to ask if he was welcome. Castiel didn't acknowledge his presence, his blue eyes still fixed on some invisible point in the distance. He leaned back, stuffing his hands in his pockets, feeling as the warmth slowly left his body. He'd never really liked the cold. But Cas did. Cas loved it.

Dean sat quietly; staring out at whatever Castiel was looking at, waiting in case the man decided to break the silence. After a few minutes, Dean knew he wouldn't.

"Cas, what's wrong?" He didn't look at him, just looked straight, waiting for his friend to respond in his own time. To decide whether he was going to answer him. Either way, Dean wouldn't push him.

Finally, Castiel sighed, moving for the first time since Dean had found him. His elbows still on his knees, he lifted a hand to rub is forehead. "Dean, you…" he swallowed; it was obvious he hadn't talked in a few hours. Dean waited. "You remember the day I came here?"

Dean looked at him then, a small frown on his brow at the question. "Yeah." He kept himself from asking; knowing that the best way to get Castiel to talk was never to force things out of him.

"Did you ever wonder _why_ I came here?" It was a question, but it didn't sound like one. Like Cas already knew of the many times that Dean had thought of asking him what had made him come.

It took him a bit longer to answer this time, his voice softer, feeling slightly guilty for having wanted to know, "…Yeah."

Castiel nodded, still not looking at him. He seemed to be struggling with something, like he didn't know if he should tell Dean. Like he didn't know if it was okay to share his pain. And Dean wanted to tell him it was all right; he didn't have to deal with it alone. But he wouldn't. Because that was not what Cas needed.

"My sister…" he started, his voice heavy with something Dean found oddly familiar, "Anna." He paused, blinking up to the sky as he tried to keep his voice steady. "She died…a year ago. It's one of the reasons why Gabriel asked me to come live here." Dean winced. He then recognized Castiel's tone as one he'd heard in someone else before.

Sam.

Dean had been in a car accident some years ago, the impala was practically crushed by a drunk truck driver, and he'd almost died. The pain in Castiel's voice was the same he'd heard in Sam's while he was in coma, rendered immobile while perfectly able to listen. It was the pain of losing family.

"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet. Cas shook his head, finally turning to look at him.

"Don't be." A small smile formed at his lips then, as though he'd thought of something amusing, "You would have liked her." Blue eyes were warm with memories, and Dean was glad that he could still think positively of her, "She was a bit like you." He chuckled, "Liked pretty much the same things."

Dean allowed himself to smile, glad to see that Cas was in a better mood, "I bet she was awesome then." His grin widened when Castiel smiled. He put hand on his shoulderr, only then realizing just how cold his friend was. "Dude, you're freezing. How long have you been sitting here?"

Cas actually looked sheepish, "Maybe a couple hours…" he trailed off, looking like a child who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Dean rolled his eyes, leaning back again while Cas scratched the back of his neck and looked around, as though he'd just realized it was already dark, "I just…lost track of time."

Dean chuckled, leave it to Cas to space out in the friggin' snow. Putting his hands on his knees, he rose to his feet with a grunt, "Alright." He looked down at Cas, who watched him with his wide blue eyes, "I just froze my ass off, but I'll forgive you." He narrowed his eyes, pointing a threatening finger at him, "_This time._" Castiel gave him another of his small smiles, now looking much calmer than he had a few moments ago.

They slipped into a comfortable silence, until Dean could honestly not stand out in the cold a minute longer. There was one thing he had to say before he dragged Cas to the Café, though. "Look, Cas," the older man looked up at him, his head tilting in silent question, "You know I'm not exactly good with words, and I'm not trying to push you to say anything…but if you ever want to talk to someone." Dean's eyes were honest as he met Castiel's, "You can tell me. I won't judge you."

Castiel seemed genuinely surprised by his words, and Dean couldn't really blame him. His life motto was practically _No chick-flick moments_. But he just had a feeling that Anna's death was not the only shitty thing about Cas's past, and he didn't want the guy to freeze out in the snow every time he was haunted by memories. Castiel opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, "I…" he took a breath, shaking his head as he looked down, thinking better of it. Dean didn't push him. "Thank you, Dean." The detective nodded, understanding.

"You're welcome." He offered his hand, "Now, come on. Let's get you inside so you can get a decent coat. You're making me cold just lookin' at you." Castiel laughed, taking Dean's hand and pulling himself up. Dean made a face, "God, your hands are fucking freezing! How did you even sit here for so long? You're like a friggin' ice cube! That's it. I'm getting you a coffee and then you're getting in the car, cause I wanna get drunk." He walked quickly towards the other side of the building.

Castiel followed after, "But it's Wednesday." He noted with a frown, his head tilted in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, I convinced Bobby to let me start my break early." Dean said with a grin as Cas caught up to him.

"I see." Cas said with a small nod.

"_I see_? No _Dean, you're awesome_? Or _Dean, I wish I could be as cool as you are_?" He looked at him with mock hurt, "Come on, Cas. You're killing me here."

"Your ego doesn't need stroking, Dean. Your self-esteem is high enough as it is." Cas said with a small grin, and Dean's eyes shined with amusement as he pouted, an expression that he jokingly called the _Sam face_.

"Aw, come on. Please?" Castiel rolled his eyes in mock frustration, and finally gave in.

"Alright, Dean Winchester, you're amazing." Dean laughed, slapping Castiel's back hard enough to almost make him lose his balance.

"See? That wasn't so hard." He grinned, happy to see the amusement behind Cas's halfhearted glare.

* * *

Gabriel was picking up empty mugs and plates from a deserted table when Dean and his brother walked in. The smile on Castiel's lips made his shoulders relax immediately. That Winchester had to be Godsend or something. No one had managed to cheer his little brother up so fast. Except maybe Anna, but Gabriel didn't think she could've dealt with Castiel's troubled memories like Dean just had.

It was much easier to smile this time as Dean took off his jacket while Castiel walked behind the counter, apparently to make some coffee. "So, what are you kids up to?"

"Well, _I'm_ planning on getting wasted. I don't know if I'll manage to make Cas a bit wobbly on his legs this time," he smirked, "But I'll let you know."

"Good luck with that, hot shot." He grinned, "You manage that and I'll officially consider you my hero."

"Great. I'll drop him off around two or three and you can deal with his hung-over ass in the morning. How's that sound?"

"Very unlikely." Castiel answered, joining them with a warm cup of coffee to go.

"Cas, you're no fun." Dean complained, taking his jacket and walking towards the door with a wave. "See ya later, Gabe."

"Bye Gabriel."

"Have fun, kiddos." He waved theatrically, getting a few amused glances from the few customers left on the Café.

* * *

"Finally! Where have you guys been?" Sam called, a wide smile on his face as he waved at them from the tables they were all sitting at.

"Oh, you know, catching up with Gabe." Dean said with a grin of his own, "You know how much the guy likes to talk." He caught sight of the grateful look Castiel sent his way, and winked at him.

Sam laughed, sitting next to Jess as he looked up to Cas. He noticed the coffee in his hands and raised an eyebrow, "Coffee, Cas? Really? _Now_?"

Castiel sat at Jessica's other side, looking down at his coffee, "Yes, well, Dean made me wait in the snow so…" Dean gaped at him as he sat in front of Sam, surprise quickly turning into amusement when Cas looked at him with one of his rare grins.

"Aw, you poor baby!" Jess cooed, obviously catching on to the lie as she wrapped her arms around Cas like he was some sort of stuffed animal. "Let me get you warmed up then."

Dean snorted, "Dude, I think Cas has officially stolen your girlfriend." He nudged his elbow at Sam, who was looking at Jess with a warm smile.

"Dean!" she laughed, finally letting Cas breathe as she went to sit on Sam's lap, "Sammy knows better than to be jealous." She gave him a chaste kiss, going back to her chair as Jo brought a tray with their drinks.

"Alright, guys, drinks all around." She said, setting the drinks down and sitting next to Dean with a grin. "So how's Mr. Badass detective doing today?"

He chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders with a sly grin of his own, "Oh, you know. Fighting crime, putting the bad guys in jail…nothing out of the ordinary."

"Liar." She laughed, "Bobby was here earlier, said all you did was fall asleep on your desk and weasel your way into an early Christmas break."

"Damn it! Old man beat me here again." Everyone laughed, taking that as their queue to start chattering and drinking their beer.

A couple rounds later, Sam put his drink down, clearing his throat to gather their attention. "Okay, so the reason we called you guys tonight is…" he looked at Jess, who was practically glowing with happiness, "Because we have an announcement to make." Dean smiled widely, slamming his fist demandingly on the table.

"Come on, Sasquatch! Just show us the ring!" Jessica stretched out her hand over the table for all of them to see, leaning against Sam while the others cheered.

Jo took her hand, looking in awe at the ring. "Jess, it's beautiful!"

They all stood to congratulate the couple. Dean went over to Sam, clapping him on the shoulder before the Sasquatch gave him one of his bear hugs. "Congrats, Sammy." He smiled, "I'm proud of you."

Sam's smile was the brightest he'd seen in a long time, and Dean watched with a grin as Jo threw herself at her brother with a laugh, while Jess tackled Cas into another hug that his friend did fully return this time. When she was done with Cas, he sent her a grin, arms open as she came over and hugged him tightly as well. "I'm happy for you, Jess." He smirked, "Guess I'll have to call you sis now, huh?" She playfully smacked his arm. They watched laughing as Cas offered his hand at Sam, but his brother was already tipsy and emotional (bad combo) and pulled the shorter man into a hug that was just short of strangling him to death.

"Now what are you kids celebrating that you're making so much noise?" Ellen's motherly voice made them turn. Call it a woman's perception, or maybe Ellen's personal radar for these kinds of things, but it only took one second for her to notice the ring, and she immediately smiled at Sam and Jess like it was her own kids getting married.

There was another round of hugs, and smiles and laughter before they all moved to the bar to start with the heavy drinking.

And that's when it all started going to hell.

* * *

Dean was talking to Cas when his phone started ringing, with a smile still on his face, his friend answered the phone. "Gabriel?" The smile disappeared from Castiel's lips, a frown furrowing his brow instead. "What's wrong?"

He thought of asking, but Cas didn't seem to have much idea of what was going on either. Ellen walked over to them from behind the bar, giving Dean a questioning look that he answered with a shrug, and they both watched as Castiel seemed to pale a little.

"Ellen, could you turn on the news?" he asked suddenly, his voice nervous.

"Sure thing, honey." Ellen complied with a confused look. None of them had ever seen Cas that nervous, and Dean frowned as his friend's blue eyes focused almost completely on the TV.

The bar was too loud to hear anything, but then the image focused on a man, most likely being released from prison, from what Dean understood. He seemed tall, with short blond hair, but that was mostly all he could make out from the blurry image. Castiel seemed to have recognized the man just fine.

"Cas?" Dean watched as the color drained from the man's face as he stared at the screen in utter and completely horrified shock. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He had never seen Castiel look that scared in all the time he'd known him. "Cas, what is it?"

"Cas, honey, are you okay?" Ellen asked, stepping in front of Castiel with concern.

Dean put a hand on his shoulder, "Cas!"

Castiel jumped out of his shock, dropping his drink in the process. "Shit." He hissed, looking down at the shattered glass, his voice shaking as he looked at Ellen. "Sorry, I—" he turned and practically bolted out the door.

"Cas!" Dean stood, ready to follow him before he felt a large warm hand on his arm.

"Dean? Was that Cas? What's wrong with him?" he could hear the worry in Sam's voice, and he looked at him with a helpless expression, noticing the concern in Jessica and Jo's eyes behind them.

"I have no idea," he said honestly, feeling worry gnawing at his stomach as he glanced at the door then back at his brother. "Stay here, I'll figure out what's wrong."

Dean ran out of the Roadhouse, eyes roaming the streets as he walked in the direction of the nearest park. He didn't have to go far.

Castiel was sitting in the snow, leaning against a wall with his head in his hands, shivering with something that Dean knew to be more than just cold. Running towards him, he dropped on his knees in front of Cas, taking hold of his shoulders to shake him out of his trance. "Cas? Come on, buddy, you're scaring the crap out of me, what is it?" He moved his hands to hold his face. "Hey! Come on, man, say something."

He was met with panicked blue eyes, so scared that Dean felt his heart clench at the anguish he saw in them. It was then that he noticed he was mumbling something, his voice soft and shaking as he rocked slowly, like a child trying to wake from a nightmare. Dean strained to hear what he was saying.

"What?" he asked, searching his eyes to look for some form of recognition.

"He's coming," he whispered, "He's coming to get me. He'll find me."

Dean felt rage form inside him at the thought of someone instilling so much fear in his friend. "Who?" he shook him slightly, trying to get back his attention, "Cas, who's coming?"

"Lucifer." He shivered, "Lucifer."


	4. Pain and Memories

Dean stared at Castiel, eyes wide as his friend continued to utter Lucifer's name with a helplessness and fear he had never heard in his voice. It was so unlike Cas to show this much emotion, much less such raw unabashed horror. Dean kneeled, unmoving, petrified while Castiel kept gripping his hair tightly, muttering like a frightened child. Finally, a sound brought Dean back from his trance, and he felt his heart clench as he recognized it for what it was.

A sob.

Castiel's breath came out in strangled quiet sobs, blue eyes still wide and terrified. And Dean had had enough. Pulling on his friend's shoulders, he brought Cas to his chest, holding him tightly, moving in slow rocking motions, trying his hardest to soothe him.

"Shhh, it's okay. " he struggled to sound confident, to reassure Cas that he was safe, but it only got harder as it all sank in and Castiel started crying against his jacket. "It's okay, Cas. You're safe. He's not going to get to you. He won't get to you. I'll keep you safe, all right buddy? Sam, Gabe and I. We'll keep you safe." Dean closed his eyes as Castiel's sobs quieted down, his breathing calming as he nodded numbly. Looking down at his friend, Dean winced at how much he was shivering and looked around helplessly. Putting an arm around Cas's back and one under his knees, Dean rose to his feet, carrying a mostly limp Castiel in his arms.

Grunting from the effort, he walked around the building to find his car, "Man, you're heavy." He mumbled to himself as he somehow managed to get the passenger's door open and carefully placed his friend inside, covering him with his jacket. Once that was done, he walked around to the driver's seat, stepping into the car and immediately turning the heat up as high as it could go. Taking a brief look at Cas, he reversed out of the parking lot and sped towards Gabriel's house.

"Hang in there, Cas." He assured him, not sure if the man could even hear him, "You'll be home in a minute."

* * *

The wheels of the impala screeched against the road as they made it to the Café. As he rushed to the passenger's seat, Dean was glad to see Gabriel running towards him.

"I think he's in shock," he said as they pulled Cas up, each taking an arm and placing it around their shoulders. "And he might have hypothermia too. He was in the snow for some time."

"Alright, let's take him inside." Gabriel's face was serious as they dragged his little brother into the warm establishment and up the stairs into their apartment.

Neither of them uttered a word on the way up. Dean chanced a few brief looks at Castiel, and his worry only increased as the fear that had been written on his face before was substituted by a numb, almost dead-like expression in his eyes.

_What the hell happened to you, Cas? What did he do to you?_

He was going to get answers. No matter how hard Gabriel tried to hide it this time, Dean would know the truth. If the monster that had instilled so much panic into his best friend was out and about, Dean wanted to be ready. No way was he letting that son of a bitch get his claws anywhere near Cas.

As they walked into Cas's room, they took off his cold, wet trench coat, shoes, shirt and pants, and lied him on the bed, quickly covering him with blankets. After that, Gabriel rushed out the room, an undecipherable expression in his face. Dean glanced briefly after him before turning his eyes to his friend. Cas's blue eyes were dark, half closed as he stared at nothing, lost in memories that were unknown to Dean.

Heaving a sigh, he turned from he sat at the edge of his bed, looking down at the carpeted floor as he ran a hand through his short hair. This was wrong. This was all wrong. He knew there was no way he could have done anything to protect Cas, because he himself hadn't known what the man's traumatizing memories were (and still didn't, although he knew that this guy Lucifer was involved). But maybe he could have pushed a bit harder, tried to convince Cas to let him in on his pain. Maybe then Cas wouldn't have been so scared. Maybe then Dean wouldn't feel the cold bite of failure strangle his lungs.

Gabriel's muffled voice snapped him out of his self-deprecating trance, and he frowned as he noticed the anger in the pie maker's voice. Standing slowly, Dean glanced at Cas. He had fallen into an uneasy sleep, and the detective considered staying, but Gabriel sounded more furious than he'd ever heard him, and that just couldn't be good.

Walking to the door, he sent a last look at the sleeping Cas before turning the lights off, leaving the door open in case Castiel woke up. He could hear Gabriel more clearly now, and as he made it to the living room, he stopped to listen.

"No, don't you even go there, because that's just bullsh—" Dean had never seen Gabe so frustrated, "Michael!" The name made Dean's blood run cold, "Castiel is in shock, okay? He's shivering in his room because he sat in the snow for God knows how long after seeing him on the fucking news! So don't tell me you have it all under control, because if you did, he wouldn't even be out of prison!" Gabriel roared, fire in his eyes, but Michael must have said something, because suddenly he deflated, bringing a hand to his forehead. "I can't do that. You know that's the first place he'll check. Besides, Castiel's made friends here, he was happy until today. Sending him back would only make him more miserable."

He was quiet for a moment, listening to the muffled voice on the phone before his lip curled up in a snarl. "So that's it?" he laughed, and Dean almost flinched at the bitterness of the sound, "Why am I not surprised. Of course you do. That's just what you do, isn't it Mike? Work before family. Before everything." He snorted, looking away at the window while Michael talked. Gabriel frowned, "_What_? Who? Micha—" The bastard must have hung up on him, and by the way Gabriel glared at the phone – like he was deliberating whether to throw it out the window or not –, Dean guessed he hadn't said anything helpful.

He stood quietly for a second, giving Gabriel time to cool down before clearing his throat. The shorter man startled, and turned to look at him with slight surprise, as though he'd forgotten Dean was still there. Not even bothering to put on a smile, Gabriel sighed, "So, I take it you were listening."

Dean shrugged, "Hard not to." he paused, "Was that you brother?" The man nodded, and Dean walked into the living room, pressing his hands to the back of the sofa. "What's going on, Gabe?" he asked, his eyes dark with the look he usually gave the people he questioned in his job, "Who's Lucifer? And what the hell did he do to Cas?"

Gabriel eyed him carefully, obviously hesitating to share Castiel's dark past with him. Finally, he let himself fall on his armchair, and motioned for Dean to sit down. Dean narrowed his eyes, but obliged and walked around to sit on the sofa.

"His name is not actually Lucifer," he started, eyes lost, staring at a lost point in the distance, "Dad might have had a thing for angels, but he wouldn't go to the extreme of calling a child with the name of the devil." His chuckle was empty and humorless, "His real name is Lucius." And Dean couldn't help but think that it was close enough. By the look Gabriel sent his way, the other man thought so too. "He's the second oldest after Michael and…well," dark golden eyes were hazed in lost memories, "He adored Castiel."

Dean's eyes widened, but Gabriel didn't notice or care to acknowledge it.

"Ever since Cassie was born, he took care of him practically with all his being. He helped him walk, taught him his first words. Dad was never home, and Mom became very ill after Castiel was born. I was barely eight then, but I helped as much as I could. But…Lucifer," it seemed like Gabriel hesitated before using his brother's name, "He was the one that really looked after him, more than any of us."

Dean frowned, "Sounds like a nice kid," he commented, actually thinking of him and Sam, and how he'd practically raised him as well. "What happened?"

Gabriel paused briefly, "When Castiel was around ten, my mother died. Dad left the company to Michael and Lucifer, then disappeared." The pain of loss and neglect was barely noticeable in his voice, but Dean recognized it almost immediately; if only because he himself had sounded like that for many years when he was younger. "Lucifer suddenly became very protective of Castiel. To the point where it was starting to get scary." Dean frowned, "He wouldn't let him go outside, he barely allowed any of us to spend time alone with him. But the poor kid barely complained. He just did what he was told, all wide eyed and trusting."

"Finally, after a lot of coaxing on our part (especially Michael), Lucifer let him go to school again." Gabriel's eyes bright, and he blinked up to the ceiling, clearing his throat before continuing, "Then, when Cas was around fifteen, he came home with a big smile on his face…" he breathed out a chuckle, "Kid said he'd kissed this girl…Amelia, I think it was…"

* * *

"_Alright, Feathers," Gabriel grinned, nudging the teen as he blushed furiously, trying without succeeding to escape is brother's knowing look, "Aw, come on! don't be shy. You know you can tell me anything."_

"_You won't tell Lucius, right? Or anyone else?" Castiel's voice was slightly dubious, but there was trust in there. "_

"_You have my word as a Trickster," he joked._

"_I uh…" Castiel looked down, red as a tomato, his voice quiet, "I kissed Ames today." Aah, Amelia... Cassie had had a crush on that girl for some time. Gabriel grinned before gasping in mock surprise, wiping an invisible tear from his eye. "My little bro is all grown up," he winked, stepping back from a suddenly suspicious Castiel, "Just wait until the others find out. Anna will be so proud of you!" he called as he darted down the hall._

"_Gabriel! Gabriel, you promised!" Castiel yelled after him, but Gabriel soon lost him, the house being too big for Cassie to spot him as he ran to the gardens. There had been something in his brother's voice. Like fear. And Gabriel briefly thought about keeping his secret, not wanting to cause his brother any real distress. But amusement won over worry, and Gabriel kept running to the gardens._

"_Gabriel!" Anna exclaimed, startling as he jumped out of nowhere. She was reading a book on the porch, Mike and Lu actually taking a break from work to play chess. So boring._

_Lu chuckled, "You shouldn't scare her like that, Gabriel." But the twenty-three-year-old only stuck out his tongue, his grin widening to that of the Cheshire cat as the redhead pouted._

"_Annie gets scared too easily. It's fun." He laughed, earning himself a glare from the eighteen-year-old, "But anyway, where's Raph?" he asked, looking around, "I need to make a family announcement."_

_Michael raised an eyebrow, "He's studying. But don't bother him, you can tell him later." Gabriel scowled slightly, mumbling something about boring and no fun._

_Lucius smiled, "Just spit it out, Gabriel."_

"_Fine, fine." He grinned, turning as he heard the quick steps of someone running, then Castiel appeared next to him, breathing heavily from trying to catch up. "Oh, look who's here? The man of the hour." He beamed, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders and pulling him straight next to him. "Why don't we tell them what happened today at school, Cassie Cat?"_

"_No, please, Gabriel," Castiel sounded truly mortified, but as an older brother, it was Gabriel's mission to embarrass his little brother, and so he went on._

"_What is it?" Anna was giggling, and Michael was looking at Cas with mild amusement. Lu was also smiling, but his eyes were dead set on Castiel as Gabe delivered the news._

"_Cas kissed a girl." He announced, pride and amusement dripping from his voice, "Our little brother has become a man!" he laughed, patting the teen's shoulder harshly._

_Anna cheered, letting Castiel know that he wouldn't let him be until he told her everything, while Gabriel sung stupidly, "Cassie and Amelia, sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g~". Michael smiled, shaking his head slightly before moving back to the game. It was his turn to move._

_As he glanced down at his brother, Gabriel noticed that he was alternating between looking at the ground and at Lucius, something that he now definitely recognized as fear in his eyes. Frowning slightly, he turned to his older brother._

_There was a small smile on Lu's lips. "That's great, Castiel." Cassie tensed beside him, "Good to know you and Amelia are getting so close." Lucius' smile widened slightly, but there was no warmth there. "You should invite her over sometime."_

_Castiel nodded hastily, excusing himself before quickly walking inside the house, mumbling something about homework. Gabriel stared after him, slightly puzzled by the way he was acting. With a shrug, he walked over to flop down beside Anna and tickled her with the sole purpose of keeping her from reading._

* * *

"After that day, Castiel started acting very strange," Gabriel said, a frown in his face, "He seemed scared." Dean frowned, "He stopped seeing Amelia practically the next day." He paused, "And he started wearing long sleeve at all times, assuring me he was cold when it was practically 100 degrees outside." And at that, Dean was speechless.

"He beat Cas?" he asked, feeling anger rise inside him. "He hit him just for having a girlfriend?"

Possessive son of a bitch.

Gabriel nodded, heaving a sigh, "I'd ask about the bruises and he'd say he'd fallen down the stairs, or that he'd played football in school." He shook his head, "And I was kind of scared to look into it, because I had a feeling of what was really happening. But I couldn't bear the thought." He rubbed his forehead, "I was a coward."

"Then what?" Dean urged him. He had a feeling that Gabriel was leaving out the worst part.

"Then Lucifer gave him the beating of his life one day. No one knows why. Maybe Castiel confronted him. But I was home early, so I heard him scream and…" he closed his eyes, "God, he was…" he shook his head, obviously not wanting to talk about it. "After that, I told Michael, and there was just too much proof against Lucifer to prove me wrong. There was a trial, and Lucifer was found guilty. Michael said he would make sure that Lucifer wouldn't leave. Ever." He sighed, "But I guess Lucifer has his own ways."

Dean looked down. He still didn't know what exactly Lucifer had done to Cas before he was put in jail, and something told him he didn't want to know, but if he was going to protect Cas, he needed to know what kind of a maniac he'd be dealing with. However, as he looked at Gabriel, he knew he couldn't ask him that. And so he stood on his feet.

"Get some rest." He took his jacket from the chair by the entrance, "I'll come to check up on him tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay." Gabriel nodded, following him down the stairs and to the door of the café. "Dean!" he called as the detective walked to his car. Dean turned, eyes tired and questioning. Gabe managed a small smile, "Thank you."

Dean shook his head, opening the door to the car. There really wasn't anything to thank him for. Cas was his best friend, and Dean knew that if their situations had been reversed, Castiel would have done the same for him. But as he met the pie maker's eyes, he sighed. "You're welcome."

* * *

"And you're saying his name is Lucifer?" Sam asked incredulously, turning on his laptop as he sat in the living room while Jessica made breakfast.

"_That's what he calls himself. His real name is Lucius Novak."_ Dean replied. He sounded exhausted, and Sam could tell from his voice that he hadn't gotten any sleep. Still, the fact that Castiel's _brother_ was some sort of psychopath was nothing short of overwhelming.

"Alright. So, what do you want me to do?" He typed in his password.

"_Just…see if you can find out exactly what he did. Cas is still out of it, and Gabe is crushed. I can't ask them."_ Sam ran a hand through his long bangs, letting out a long breath. Glancing down, he noticed the huge folder that he'd been given to work over the break. He'd been called out of the city a lot recently, to work on more important cases. He'd agreed to a couple, but only to those that were relatively close.

Still…if Lucifer had broken out of jail, then surely there would be a file on him in there.

"Okay, wait a second. I think I might have something." Placing the folder on his lap, he flipped through the pages, looking for the file he was looking for. Aha. A frown on his face, he flipped the smaller folder open. Passing over the most recent case in his file, he went to the sheet that described the trial that actually put him in jail.

Dark hazel eyes ran through the words quickly, his frown deepening as he read a detailed description of Cas's injuries. He'd ended up in the hospital for almost a month and a half.

"Jesus…" he whispered, wincing as he glanced at the three pictures clipped to the file. The face of a much younger Castiel was covered in bruises. In the other two, Cas was shirtless. The first one was taken from the front, in which there could be seen a painful amount of heavy bruising on his chest, something that hinted to broken ribs. There also seemed to be a thickly stitched stab wound in his abdomen.

"_What? What is it?"_

He barely registered Dean's voice as he looked at the picture. But as he glanced at the one of Castiel's back, Sam actually gasped. There were two thick cuts on Castiel's shoulder blades, the skin practically having been carved out in two perfectly straight lines of almost a foot long.

As he read down to the bottom of the file, Sam's eyes widened as he read the last lines. The color drained from his face as he read them over and over again, not trusting his eyes.

**_Apart from all the lacerations on his torso and face, there is also evidence of brutal sexual abuse. The doctors' annotations from their exams describe it as the boy's insides having been left "raw"._**

Rape.

Cas had been raped.

"Shit."

"_What? Sam, what the hell is it? What did he do to him?"_ Dean's angry voice managed to snap him out of his horror, and he finally dropped the file on the table.

"Dean, this is…" he whispered, clearing his throat, "This is bad. I can't even explain it to you. You're going to have to see this, I can't—shit." He ran a hand through his hair, clenching his eyes as he rubbed his forehead.

"_Alright. Come over to my place. I don't think we should talk about this with Jessica there." _Sam nodded numbly.

"Yeah, you're right." His voice was slightly shaken as he glanced at the file again, "I'll be there in a minute." He hung up, dropping the phone on the sofa and putting his face in his hands.

This was serious. If this guy was after Cas…

They couldn't let Lucifer find him.

They _wouldn't_ let Lucifer find him.


	5. Keep you safe

_AN - Sorry it took so long. This fic is being kind of hard to write. It's kind of difficult to keep Castiel in character, since he's not as socially awkward as he's in the actual show, and because of the obvious (and horrible) matter of his traumatic childhood. I hope I didn't screw up too badly. Please keep reviewing, reading your opinions helps me improve and motivates me to write faster._

_Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters are property of Eric Kripke._

* * *

Dean paced around the room, only one word echoing repeatedly inside his head as he took on what Sam had just told him.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, __**shit**__!_

Sam watched him from the sofa, a worried expression on his face as he still let the news sink in.

Castiel had been raped.

By his own brother.

Lucius Novak.

No.

_Lucifer_.

And really, there was no better way of naming that monster after finding out what he'd done to his fifteen-year-old brother. Someone like that was not meant to be called human. _Could not_ be considered human.

Suddenly, Dean stopped, his eyes pained as he hesitated before walking back to his brother. Sam looked up at him, waiting.

After a moment of silence, Dean squared his shoulders, readying himself, and Sam could guess what he was going to ask.

"Let me see the pictures." Sam winced slightly, worried about his brother's tendency for self-induced guilt. Dean must have noticed this, because he stretched out his hand, as though making it clear that there would be no discussion in this. "_Sam_."

Sam sighed, opening the thick folder to pull out Lucifer's file. Holding the papers for a second, he hesitated for a second before putting them in Dean's hand. "Here."

Dean took the file, green eyes making quick work of the descriptions of the wounds before finally landing on the pictures of their friend. His eyes darkened as he took on the amount of bruising on his chest, along with the stab wound in his abdomen. But the detective couldn't help the hitched breath that left his lips upon seeing the massive cuts on the narrow back.

"Jesus…"

Feeling disgust crawl up his stomach, he tossed the pictures on the table. How could anyone do that to a kid? More to the point, how could anyone do such a thing to their own _brother_? A disturbing image of Sam, back when he was only a lanky teenager, crossed his mind, and he felt his pulse quicken in horror at the thought of seeing his brother's back carved up like Castiel's had been.

The memory of his conversation with Gabriel came back to him, and he frowned at the thought that it had been Gabriel who had found Castiel, and if he'd understood him correctly, Lucifer had been in the room still.

"Dean!" His brother's voice brought him back to the present, and he looked down to see Sam looking at him in worry. "Did you hear what I just said?"

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he tried to clear his mind, "No. Sorry, I spaced out. What was it?" he asked, the frown not leaving his brow.

Sam sighed, "It's just…" he ran a hand through his brown hair, "What are we gonna do, Dean?" he leaned back on the sofa, "He could be anywhere by now."

"I know, Sam." Dean finally sat down, elbows on his knees as he rubbed his face, "But if anything, we need to make sure Cas is safe. We can't let that bastard find him."

His younger brother nodded, looking down as they both sank in silence, when Sam looked up again, his seemed hesitant, and Dean already knew he wouldn't like his suggestion. "Dean, are you sure he-? I mean," he swallowed, "You really think Lucifer's going to look for Cas?"

Dean glared at him, "Sam, the guy's a possessive son of a bitch. He barely let Cas have a social life outside of the house, and when he did, look what happened!" he leaned back, eyes dark, "Besides, when Gabriel was talking to Michael, he mentioned something about not letting Cas go back home because that'd be the first place he'd check or something." Already feeling a headache drilling at his head, he massaged his forehead with his fingers.

Thankfully, Sam accepted his argument and backed down. "Alright. So should Cas maybe move out of Gabriel's? If Lucifer knows they're close, he'll probably look for him there as well." He sighed, "Maybe a motel?"

Dean shook his head, "No. He should stay with someone, leaving him alone would be a bad idea." He glanced down at his watch, then pushed himself up to his feet, "I'll ask Gabe what he thinks. Maybe Cas could stay at my place for a couple days till we figure something out."

Sam nodded, "We could take turns." He offered, "Jessica wouldn't mind, and I'm pretty sure Ellen and Bobby wouldn't either." He shrugged, "It would give us more time to react if Lucifer came looking for him here."

"Yeah," Dean admitted, heaving a breath as he felt his exhaustion starting to take its toll on him, "Yeah, that could work."

Sam stood, placing the file back in his folder before putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll figure this out, Dean."

"I know," Dean agreed, albeit not with as much confidence as either of them would have liked. They both reached for their jackets and walked out of the building to their respective cars. "I'll give you a call later." Dean said before stepping into the impala.

Sam nodded, sighing before stepping into his own car, and both brothers drove off in opposite directions.

* * *

"Sam?" Jessica called as he opened the door to their apartment. He took a breath. She deserved to know what was wrong – Cas had given them quite the scare the night before – but that didn't mean he had to share all the details with her.

"Yeah," he hung his coat as she rushed to him, "Sorry I left like that, Dean wanted to talk about Cas." He wasn't lying to her, he was simply not mentioning anything about the file or the pictures…or the rape.

"How is he? Do you know what happened?" She asked worriedly. He gave her a small smile, but even he could not hide the concern he himself was feeling. If Jess noticed, she didn't mention it.

"Yeah, he…" he sighed, "Apparently his brother had been in prison for abusing him as a kid." Jessica gasped; light eyes wide as she searched his own dark hazel ones. He ran a hand through his hair, "Cas saw him yesterday in the news," he winced, "He escaped around a day or two ago."

Jessica's hand found their way to her mouth, and her eyes seemed to haze over as she remembered Castiel's face before running out of the bar, "He was so scared." Her voice shook, and Sam stepped forward to put his arms around her, pulling her into a comforting hug that he knew would sooth little of her worry. But Jess held onto him, burying her face in his chest.

They stayed like that for a few moments before she looked up at him, "Is he okay? Have you seen him?"

He heaved a sigh, shaking his head, "No. Dean should be checking on him by now, I'll give him a call later and I'll let you know."

She leaned her head down on his chest again, taking a few breaths to calm herself before looking up again with a small smile. "Are you hungry? You left in such a hurry that you didn't even have breakfast."

Sam could see the worry in her eyes, knew that she was only trying to keep them both busy until they heard from their friend. It was the only thing they could do for now. He'd call Ellen and Bobby later. With a nod and a smile of his own, he let her go, and they walked quietly towards the kitchen, their minds still on their blue-eyed friend.

* * *

Dean closed the door of the impala, pausing for a moment as he recalled the night before, when he'd carried a very shocked and shivering Cas to the car. His shoulders fell as he let out a breath, hot air coming out in white puffs in the cold winter morning.

He stood in front of the closed Café, hands deep in his pockets and eyes dark, before Gabriel opened the door for him, the ever-present mischief gone from his golden eyes as he let him in. They walked up the stairs in silence, and Dean thought of asking how Cas was before they reached the door; but the way Gabriel's shoulders sagged with the weight of guilt and a sense of failure that Dean could perfectly relate to was good enough of an answer.

As he walked inside the apartment, Dean shivered, missing the warmth that usually lit up Gabriel's home. As he glanced at the shorter man, he read the silent question in his eyes. With a small nod, he silently walked to Cas's room.

Castiel was sitting on the edge of his bed, very still, in an almost statuesque manner, facing the window, watching the snow. He was wearing a gray t-shirt and a pair of sweats, which only made him look even smaller. If he heard Dean step into the room, he didn't react, and the detective winced slightly before masking his worry as well as he could as he sat down, facing the door, his back to Cas.

For what seemed like hours, but was probably no more than 10 minutes, they just…sat there. Both silent. It had been around a year since they'd met, and there hadn't been many conflicts in all that time, but by then, Dean knew how to make Cas open up. Pushing wouldn't take him anywhere. Didn't mean it was any easier for him to just _sit_ there, waiting for Cas to be ready.

With every minute that passed, the knot in Dean's stomach tightened, afraid of what Cas might say, of what he wouldn't. And that was just it. Dean was afraid. But he couldn't let Cas know that – even if he was pretty sure his friend would –, because right now, the one with any rights to be shitting his pants was Cas.

Finally, Castiel shifted slightly, making Dean straighten up, waiting.

"…I'm scared." It was merely a whisper, and Dean had to stop and wonder for a second if he had actually heard it. Despite his usual rough voice, Castiel sounded like a child. The thought brought to mind the image of his narrow, lacerated back, and he closed his eyes, bringing a hand to rub his temples.

"…I know," he managed to say after a moment, "But you're not alone, Cas. Not this time. Let us help you. Let—" He paused, swallowing, "Let me help you." He turned then, green eyes fixed on the back of his friend's head.

Castiel sighed, leaning forward to press his elbows to his knees. Dean waited, and they once again fell into a silence that seemed to last far more than it actually did.

"Do you know? About everything?" Dean winced. He could only imagine this would be the last thing Cas had wanted him to find out.

"…Yeah." He saw Cas nod, as though he'd been expecting it. Dean would have smiled. Of course he would; Cas knew how Dean got when he was worried – how he did what he could to find out what was wrong so he could fix it.

"Who else knows?" he could hear the dread in his voice, and Dean only hoped he wouldn't feel too bad with just him and Sam knowing.

"Sam." He rubbed his eyes, keeping exhaustion at bay, "He showed me L—" his pause was barely noticeable, but the tension in Castiel's shoulders, Dean knew he'd noticed, "his file this morning."

"What about Jessica?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure Sam won't tell her everything." He tried to reassure him, because they both knew Jessica wouldn't let Sam keep her in the dark about something like this, "Probably just the basics; enough to let her know what's wrong."

"That I was abused by my brother as a child?" the bitterness dripped heavily from his gruff voice, and Dean winced again.

"Look, Cas…"

"It's okay." Castiel interrupted, heaving a quiet sigh, shaking his head in apology, "Sorry, it's just…"

"I know." He assured him. "I understand."

And then Cas turned to look at him, eyes red, with dark rings already forming under them. Dean could only guess he'd either stayed awake all night or had been invaded by nightmares. But as he looked into his friend's eyes, intermingled with all the fear and exhaustion, Dean recognized genuine gratitude. "Thank you." Castiel's eyes warmed with one of his non-smiles, "For yesterday…you didn't have to—"

"It was nothing." Dean interrupted, because _like hell_ would he let Cas feel guilty over something like that. He had enough to be worried about as it was. "Really. I know you would've done the same for me." And it was true. He knew it was. "Besides, I couldn't just let you turn into a trench coated popsicle in the snow," he joked, trying to lighten up the mood, "Jessica would have my ass."

Castiel looked down, his shoulders shaking lightly with a soft chuckle, and Dean could feel the tension leaving his shoulders. Even when he knew what Cas was doing. He was pushing the fear to the back of his mind, keeping himself grounded on the present, like he'd done the first month after he'd gotten here. And Dean watched with awe as Castiel built a wall around his past again, hiding it from him and the world. Something his friend managed to accomplish even better than Dean himself.

"I think you should stay at my place for a few days." He informed him, thinking it would be better to get his and Sam's idea out as soon as possible. _It might help you_. He thought. _And I'd be able to keep you safe_.

Castiel's blue eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he tilted his head slightly with a small frown. Dean fought the urge to smile. "Sam and I think it'd be a good idea for you to move around a bit, just in case—"

"Lucifer came looking for me." Cas finished, and Dean looked at him, face blank, but eyes pleading. His friend nodded, and Dean was actually amazed of how Cas could still think clearly with all the fear he must have been feeling. "I guess it makes sense." He admitted. "You'll tell Ellen and Bobby too?"

"Same thing Sam tells Jessica." He assured him, "I won't tell them anything you don't want them to know, Cas."

Castiel looked back at the window, "…Just don't tell them about the ra—" his voice shook, and he swallowed. Dean could see his hands gripping at the fabric of his sweats, his knuckles white.

"I won't." Dean's voice was softer than usual as he put a hand on Castiel's shoulder and squeezed it in silent promise, trying to give him strength. Tell him he was _here_. That he wasn't leaving.

The tension slowly left Cas under his touch. "No one has to know about that, Cas. Not unless you want them to."

Castiel's frame shook slightly as he let out a choked breath, and Dean clenched his shoulder tighter as Cas nodded, left hand moving up quickly to wipe his eyes before going back to his legs.

They stayed like that for another long moment before Cas managed to regain his composure, and Dean let his hand fall from the other's shoulder as he stood up.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked, walking around the bed to sit on the windowsill.

Cas shook his head, blue eyes moving up to look at him more easily this time, "No."

"Great, because I'm starving. Come on, let's see if we can steal some pie."


	6. The Traitor

**A.N.** _Thank you for the reviews! They really do help me write. Sorry this is taking so long, it's proving to be harder than usual to get this story going. Please leave a small comment to let me know if you like it, or if you have any suggestions :)_

**Disclaimer** - _Supernatural and all its characters are property of Eric Kripke._

* * *

Three days later, no one would have thought Castiel had been short of having a serious nervous breakdown. He was back at Gabriel's Café, serving coffee and baking as usual, with the only difference that he went to Dean's house after closing instead of staying at his brother's. Their friends had shown him their support and offered to help in any way they could, but Cas just wanted for everything to go back to the way it was before his brother escaped from prison. And if that was the easiest way for him to cope, they wouldn't push.

Dean yawned, covering his mouth before going back to the steaming coffee in front of him. He was on Christmas break, so he spent his time hanging out with his brother or Cas and Gabe, since the café didn't close over the holidays. And really, lazy mornings with a good cup of coffee and a mouth-watering piece of pie were as good a way to start the day as any other. Looking up from his newspaper, his eyes searched for his friend, and Dean felt himself smiling when he saw Castiel serving Missouri a cup of tea, smiling at her while she went on and on about something Dean couldn't hear. He chuckled as Gabriel tossed a wet rag at Cas' face, his friend catching it without taking his eyes from the old woman, all too used to Gabe's antics to be caught by surprise anymore.

Turning back to the newspaper, he took a sip of his coffee, letting its warmth spread through him in the cold winter morning. He was skimming through an article on some international deal the government had screwed up when the chair in front of him was dragged back, and he looked up to see Gabriel sitting in front of him, the ever-present grin on his lips.

"So, Deano," the twinkle in the pie-maker's eyes basically screamed, _I'm bored so I'm gonna annoy you_. "I notice you're coming fairly often these days," he raised his eyebrows, "You have a thing for me or something?"

Dean snorted, "Don't flatter yourself, Gabe. I don't swing that way." He grinned, "Besides, we both know the only reason I come here is your apple pie." He took a sip of his coffee.

Gabriel hummed, "Right. So you don't have a crush on my little brother either, then."

The detective choked on his coffee, bringing a hand to wipe his mouth. Glancing at it with a small scowl, he grabbed the napkin in front of him and glared at Gabriel, "Dude, would you stop it with the gay jokes? It's getting annoying."

Gabe laughed, "Sorry, Winchester, you're just an easy target. You'd think you'd be used to it by now." The shorter man sighed, leaning back comfortably in his seat, "Besides, I think Cassie's taken an interest in little Emily."

"Emily? From the old gas station?" he raised his eyebrows, "I thought she'd left after what happened with her aunt and uncle."

"She came back." Gabriel shrugged, "Said she missed the town too much. She's staying over at a friend's until she finds a place…" he glanced at Castiel, winking exaggeratedly, making his brother roll his eyes. Gabriel chuckled and looked at Dean, "I'm thinking of giving her a job here, actually."

Dean smiled in amusement, "What, you playing match-maker now? Leave the kids alone."

"Oh, I would." He defended himself, raising his hands. Dean snorted. No, he wouldn't. "But they're both too quiet and shy to say anything. And it is the burden of an older brother to get his little bro laid…or paired up, in this case…I don't think Cassie's the type to sleep around."

Dean laughed, "No, I don't think so." He glanced at Cas, who'd looked up from his work at the sound of Dean's laughter and tilted his head in question. Dean shook his head, still smiling, and Cas shrugged and went back to his own business.

There were only a couple customers left in the establishment, breakfast rush being mostly over, and a few minutes later it was only them and Missouri still sitting in the Café. Cas smiled at the old woman and walked into the kitchen to start preparing some dough for the next batch of pound cake.

At the sound of a silver bell, the door opened, and Dean looked up to see a black man dressed in a suit, without a tie. He raised his eyebrows.

_And who the hell is this?_

The man seemed to be looking for someone, so maybe he knew Gabriel and Cas, looking back at the pie maker, he frowned at the way the other man had tensed. Pushing back his hostility, Gabriel rose to meet the guy. Dean wasn't too happy with the way his black eyes searched the establishment, but chose to stay quiet.

"Uriel," Gabe greeted, a smile plastered on his face, "Longtime no see, bucko. To what do I owe the honor of your powerful presence?" Dean smirked slightly at Gabriel's sardonic tone.

"Where is Castiel?" Dean tensed. What the hell?

"Oh, I see how it is. Are you still upset because I put that skunk in your car? Or was it the pink underwear?" he tilted his head innocently, "You know, if you wanted them in orange, you only had to say so."

"_I'm here under orders_," the big man replied with a barely kept snarl, "Michael wants me to keep Castiel safe, and not let him out of my sight. It is not safe for him here."

Dean glared at…what was his name? Urinal? What the hell was this guy going on about? He could tell Gabriel was about to lose his "friendly" smile, and figured he might as well make himself known.

"Hold it right there, chuckles." He stood up, coming to stand next to Gabriel. "Cas is fine right where he is. He's a big boy, he doesn't need a bodyguard."

The immediate dislike was so obvious in Uriel's eyes that Dean almost raised his eyebrows. Someone had his panties in a twist today. "And just who do you think you are to decide that, boy?"

"He's my friend." All eyes turned to Castiel, who had walked out of the kitchen and was standing by the counter. "Uriel, you are not needed here. Go back to Michael." And sweet mother of Jesus, Cas was actually kind of scary. His blue eyes glared coldly at Junkless, and his voice had taken the hoarser pitch he'd only heard when Cas was annoyed or pissed. Which wasn't often.

Uriel's eyes widened, apparently surprised by Castiel's cold hostility. But he still didn't move, and Cas's eyes narrowed, "_Go_." He hissed.

Junkless's shoulders deflated slightly at the order, and from the reaction Dean knew there had to be some history there, "I didn't mean to upset you, Cas." His voice was almost soft, but Dean still fought the urge to scowl at the use of Castiel's nickname. It sounded wrong coming from someone like Uriel.

Castiel did not falter, he just stared back, cold and emotionless. "I won't ask twice." And if that was as close to a threat as Dean had ever heard Cas get, he didn't comment on it.

Uriel sighed, "I will be in town for the next couple of days, in case you change your mind." His eyes then turned to Dean, and the open dislike and condescendence were back, "Maybe you'll realize what a poor protection these…people…can offer you." Before Dean responded or Cas gave another order, Uriel nodded at Gabriel and turned around, leaving the shop as swiftly as he'd appeared.

Silence.

"Who the hell was that?" Dean practically demanded, looking down at Gabriel with angry eyes.

The shorter man sighed, "That was Uriel."

"Yeah, thanks, I got that." Dean responded snarkily. "I mean what the hell was he going on about protecting Cas?" He paused for a second, "Did Michael send him?"

"_Dean Winchester_." The detective suddenly felt like a little boy being scolded as he turned to face Missouri, who had remained silent until that moment. "You calm yourself right this second." Dean pursed his lips, clenching his jaw but staying silent. The woman nodded and turned to Cas, who was looking down and seemed lost in thought. "Castiel, honey," he blinked and looked at her, holding her soul-searching gaze (seriously, Cas was just about the only person Dean knew that could stare back at her). She gave him a small smile and put a hand on his shoulder, "You did well." His eyes widened slightly, but Missouri just nodded and turned to take her purse. "I'll be back tomorrow again for breakfast." She told Gabriel as she walked by, leaving all three men staring after her in confusion. Missouri always seemed to know your history with just a look, know your fears and hopes. It was like she could read you mind. Really. It was actually kind of creepy sometimes.

The second she was gone, Dean cleared his throat and turned to Castiel, who was lost in thought once again, "Cas," blue eyes met green, "You okay?"

Castiel sighed, stepping back to lean on the counter, "I'm fine."

He was about to ask again just what the hell was going on when the bell at the door tinkled, and a petite blond form walked in. Dean was surprised to see how much Emily had grown in the past four years; she looked more mature, her face less round than the last time he'd seen her. She was still beautiful, and her light eyes still shone with innocence. She looked at them and smiled shyly, tugging a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um…is this a bad moment?" she asked, "I can come back later…"

Gabriel shook his head, sinking back into his usual persona with a grin, "No, no. Sorry, we just had a troublesome customer, nothing you need to worry your pretty head about." He winked at her, and Dean could see her relax slightly, "Cassie!" Gabriel called, "Mind showing Emily what her job would be?"

Emily's eyes widened slightly, "That's it? You're just giving me the job?"

The pie maker laughed, "Yep! It was starting to get kind of overwhelming around here. There's only so much two people can do to keep a café going. Plus," he wiggled his eyebrows, "I'm sure we'll be seeing many more customers with our cute new waitress."

She giggled, looking away briefly in embarrassment before meeting Gabriel's eyes with genuine gratitude, "Thank you."

Gabriel bowed theatrically, "Anything for a beautiful lady."

Emily smiled, walking towards the counter. As she stood next to Dean, she looked up, "It's good to see you again, Dean."

Dean smiled back, "You too, Emily. Glad to have you back." Her smile widened, and they both turned to Castiel, who had one of his small smiles and was motioning for Emily to follow him to the kitchen.

Dean could see her blush as they walked behind the counter and through the door, and chuckled as he overheard Cas ask her questions of whether there was anything she liked baking. As their voices muffled, he turned to Gabriel, who also had a small smile on his face. He cleared his throat, making the shorter man look up at him. "So," he nodded to the table, "How about a cup of coffee?"

Gabriel eyed him for a moment before agreeing, not really moving to get another cup but merely walking back to sit at the table. Dean followed.

"Okay," he started, "Why do I get the feeling Junkless is not just a stunt bodyguard #3?"

Gabriel snorted slightly at he nickname and sighed, "He and Castiel used to be friends, when they were younger. Since his parents worked at the house, he'd play with Cas around the manor." He rolled his eyes, "But then Uriel became and asshole and started working for Michael. Not sure which came first."

"So he's Michael's bodyguard or something?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Nope. He's Cassie's." he rolled his eyes, "After what happened with Lucifer, Michael made Cas stay at home, not that Castiel wanted to go anywhere at the time." He sighed, "But my older brother was worried that Castiel would put the family name in jeopardy and so Uriel was ordered to not let him out of his sight. In one of his attempts to leave, a year later or so, Uriel assured him he understood only to betray him later. Cas spent months on lockdown after that, so it's not surprising he feels bitter about it."

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, no joke." He ran a hand through his hair, "No offense, man, but your family's kind of messed up." Gabriel gave him a glare that lasted a second before dissipating in another sigh.

"Yeah, I guess."

They stayed in silence for a moment, until the sound of Emily's laughter behind the kitchen doors broke them out of their trance. Dean blinked, glancing at the door for a moment before turning to Gabriel. "Well, I better get going. Sam's been bitching about needing my help for Christmas shopping."

"Ooh, does he need advice for a good gift? I heard you're gonna have a sister-in-law soon." Gabriel grinned.

"Yep." He chuckled, standing and putting his jacket on, "I swear, every time I think of Sammy getting married I feel like an old man."

Gabriel laughed, "Well then, maybe it's time you found yourself a woman, Deano."

Dean smiled, "I know. Anyway, I'll see you later." He patted Gabriel's shoulder and walked out of the Café. He had a bad feeling about this Uriel guy, there was something odd about him. Shaking his head, he stepped into the impala and drove off to meet Sam.

* * *

Uriel walked into his booked room. Glancing around with a condescending gaze, he let out a hum before walking to the window, eyeing the café across the street. His phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket swiftly.

"Sir." He greeted.

"_Did you find him?"_

"Yes, sir. He works for Gabriel, in a café." There was a quiet chuckle, and Uriel waited for his master to give instructions.

"_Gabriel, Gabriel… you never cease to amuse me, brother,"_ he paused, _"Will there be any problems?"_

Uriel frowned, looking back outside just in time to see the man that Castiel had called _friend_ walk out of the establishment towards a black car. "One of Castiel's …friends" he scowled, he didn't like that man. Not one bit. "…He seems to know something. He wasn't so much surprised by the fact that I had been ordered to protect Castiel but angry that I thought they'd require assistance."

"_Hmm. Keep an eye on him." _ The voice ordered, _"Find out who he is and what he does. I want to know how close he is to Castiel."_ Uriel could have sworn he head a hint of possessiveness in his master's voice.

"Yes, sir."

"_It's good to know I can count of you, Uriel."_ The man felt his chest swell with pride and accomplishment.

"It's an honor to be of help to you," he paused slightly. "Lucifer."

There was another chuckle on the other line, and Uriel could hear the smile in the man's voice as he breathed, _"Oh, how I like my new name."_ his voice was back to its usual emotionless tone as he added, _"Keep me updated on the boy. I want to have Castiel by the end of this week, Uriel. Be ready to act when I tell you."_

Uriel wondered for a second what he was doing. This was Castiel. His old friend Cas.

No.

They weren't friends anymore. Uriel only lived to serve Lucifer. The man had promised him power. And Uriel wouldn't stop until he got what he'd been promised.

He smiled.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

...

_...Uriel's a dick (but then, we all knew that)_

_Remember Emily? She's from the episode __Scarecrow __in season 1._

_I just sort of went through those episodes again and found that I actually liked her, so I added her to the story._


	7. Taken

**A.N. **_Sorry it's taken me so long to update! College is being a real bitch at the moment (do pardon my French). I hope this long chapter makes up for it and that no one is awfully out of character. Please leave any comments or suggestions you might have, I love reading them._

_Also I'd like to thank _**Voldemort- Coolest Badguy EVER** _for suggesting I use Pastor Jim in the story. I only hope I captured him well enough, since we don't really see much of him on the show._

_On with the chapter!_

_.-.-.  
_

* * *

It was already dark outside by the time Pastor Jim had finished his prayers and headed to his room, pausing by the altar one last time. Christmas day was almost here, and a few volunteers had stayed with him to set up the Nativity scene in front of the altar like they did every year. He smiled fondly at the figure of the Infant Jesus, closing his eyes to take a quiet content breath before making his way to the door that led to his chambers. The sound of quiet steps behind him made him turn around, he rarely locked the doors of the Church, especially in cold times like these when the people that roamed the streets needed a warm place to spend the night. It wasn't a homeless man who had stumbled into the church however.

"Castiel?" his eyes widened slightly in surprise, turning completely to face the young man. He was wearing his usual tan trench coat; the pastor often worried that the boy would freeze to death one day. A blue scarf was wrapped around his neck, and his hands were buried deep inside his pockets. His nose and cheeks were slightly flushed from the unforgiving cold of the night. But that wasn't what worried him.

It was the haunted look in Castiel's eyes.

"Sorry, Pastor." The boy apologized (because Jim could not see him as anything but an innocent boy, despite his age), "I didn't know you were still here. I didn't mean to intrude."

"You're not intruding, Castiel. And you know this House is always open to you, no matter what." He noticed that Castiel still didn't look convinced, shifting his weight from foot to foot as though trying to decide what to do next. "What's the matter, son?" he walked slowly towards him, not wanting to intimidate him. Ellen Harvelle had given him a call a few days ago, telling him that Castiel might not act like his usual self, but she hadn't specified more than that. He hadn't given it too much thought at the time, figuring Castiel would tell him if he deemed it to be any of his business. As he looked at the young man's face, however, he saw traces of exhaustion, shame, and a fear that seemed to radiate from Castiel so strongly that he could practically feel it from where he was standing.

Castiel hesitated, looking at him in the eyes. Those blue eyes that hid so much pain and fear. He'd noticed a few times before, since Castiel seemed to lower most of the walls he had built around himself when he sat here quietly, by himself. But he had never seen such raw and unabashed fear looking back at him in those eyes. "What's wrong?" he pressed.

The young man finally shook his head, and the pastor witnessed sadly as the walls behind those eyes were rebuilt firmly and without fault. Castiel smiled one of his small smiles, one that was genuine, making his eyes soften, and yet still masked the dark truth that corroded his heart. "Nothing. Sorry if I have worried you. I just wanted to come visit our Father tonight." And it was at moments like this when Jim wondered if Castiel was not the true angel of Thursday. Such faith and strong belief in a man with eyes as sad and melancholic as this young man's was one he'd only seen in the most heartbreaking statues of the angels of the Lord. Sad, pious expressions forever immortalized in stone. He was so struck by this last thought that he barely heard Castiel's next words, much quieter and probably not meant for his ears. "Just in case…"

He felt worry gnaw at his heart. "Just in case…what?" Castiel's walls seemed to shake for a moment as his eyes widened slightly, obviously not having meant for him to hear that. "Castiel." The old man's voice was soft as he took a step closer to Castiel, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What is it, son? You look terrified."

Castiel looked up, eyes focused on the stained glass window behind the altar, the moonlight making the colors paler and colder than during the day. "I just…" he paused, "I just have the feeling that I—"

"_Cas_?" the priest's eyes darted to the doors as a new voice echoed within the walls of the church. When he looked at Castiel again, his eyes were closed, and Pastor Jim knew that those walls had been put up again. Because if there was anyone around whom Castiel was extremely careful not to show fear or pain, that was Dean. He sighed, looking up to see said young man practically run through the doors.

"Now, now, young man, is that the way you walk into the House of God?" If he didn't know any better, Pastor Jim would have thought that Dean hadn't really expected to find Castiel there. The way he was looking at his friend was a battle between fear, relief and incredibility. The relief soon turned into anger, however, and the look in his face then was one the old pastor had only seen him give his younger brother Sam.

"Sorry, Pastor Jim," he apologized, still out of breath as he glared at Castiel, and immediately stepped towards his friend, face red with anger and cold, "Cas, what the hell, man? You almost gave me a friggin' heart attack! What were you thinking?"

Castiel sighed, looking down before turning to meet infuriated green eyes, "I'm sorry, Dean." And that was clearly all he had to say on the matter. Dean must have realized this too, for he suddenly let out a frustrated breath.

"Fine." Dean's eyes studied Castiel closely, but they softened slightly when he noticed the shivers racking through the blue eyed man, something that Pastor Jim had only just noticed. "Come on, let's get you home." He nodded at the old pastor and turned to walk out, muttering something about stupid trench coats and ice cubes.

"Thank you, Pastor. I'm sorry for disturbing you. Good night." The young man nodded politely, and the priest watched as he walked to the main doors. As he disappeared into the dark cold night, Pastor Jim could only close his eyes and silently pray that no evil would befall on Castiel. That the cause of his fears would not manifest itself, and that if it did, that Castiel wouldn't get hurt.

Something told him that his prayers would not be enough to save the young man however, and he turned to look up at the stained glass window before heaving a sigh. A cold feeling settled in his stomach, and he shook his head with a small frown as he walked down the aisle to finally step down to his chambers.

* * *

The ride back to Dean's was spent in silence. The detective's knuckles were white as he clenched the steering wheel, trying to calm his still frantic heart, convincing himself that Cas was okay, that he was right here. As though to confirm his mind's affirmations, his eyes glanced at Castiel briefly, letting out another small breath of relief at what had to be the twentienth time he'd checked in the ten minutes they'd been in the car.

Castiel was looking outside, shoulders downcast and eyes lost in thought as he watched the lights and Christmas decorations adorning the houses they drove by. Dean forced himself to loosen his grip on the wheel to rub his eyes briefly, taking a long breath.

Cas had been acting weird today, Dean wasn't exactly sure how to explain it, but his friend was just…quiet – like he was readying himself for something. And the thought that he would see him break down again, or that he would keep going out on his own without telling anyone where he was going made him fear for his friend's safety. Also the fact that he felt like someone had been watching him for the past week did nothing to calm his nerves. His mind kept going back to that asshole, Uriel; but he was Castiel's supposed bodyguard, so it should sort of be out of the question. Only it wasn't. Something about the guy hadn't sat right with Dean, and honestly, the fact that he hadn't seen the guy at all since that first meeting at Gabriel's café only made him more suspicious. Some lousy bodyguard he was if he gave up on protecting Castiel at the first glare from the blue eyed man (although he had to admit his friend had been pretty scary).

"Dean," he blinked, being pulled from his thoughts by the subject of his worries, and he glanced at the man briefly before turning his eyes back to the road, long enough to see he was being stared at. It was something he'd gotten used to soon after meeting Castiel. He made a humming sound to know he was listening, and somehow managed to keep the anger from his voice. Thinking about Uriel and Lucifer had just made him more worried than mad. "I'm sorry."

He sighed. He knew Cas was sorry, but he really couldn't see how his friend could have just disappeared without thinking of letting anyone know where he'd be. Didn't he understand the danger he'd put himself in? Luckily, they reached home in a short moment, and Dean was able to stop the car and look at Castiel in the eye. He rubbed his face, the exhaustion that always followed worry finally starting to make itself known. "Look, Cas," he started, "I know you're sorry, man. I do. But I'm just having a hard time understanding why you pulled a stunt like that."

Castiel looked down, but Dean just knew that that odd gray look was back in his eyes. "I just…" he sighed, then met the detective's searching look, "It was just something I needed to do." He was not going to give further explanation, and Dean knew that. Somehow, he wasn't sure he would have liked Cas's reasons too much anyway.

With a defeated shake of his head, he ran a hand through his hair and pulled the keys from the ignition. "Okay." Reaching over to pat Cas's shoulder, "It's okay." He sighed as he felt the tension leave his friend slightly, and couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. "You hungry? I could order some pizza."

Castiel replied with a small smile of his own and nodded. It was supposed to be his last day staying at Dean's, since he would be living at Sam's for the following week, and Dean could not thank his luck enough that Cas pretty much shared his love for what Sammy derisively called _junk food_.

"Alright, let's get you inside then. I'm freezing my ass off just looking at you."

The quiet chuckle that came from the passenger seat was enough to lighten up the heavy feeling in his gut. Everything would be okay.

Right?

* * *

"Sir."

"_I got the files you sent me. They were very…enlightening. Good job."_

"Thank you, sir."

"…_Bring him to me. You mentioned that Winchester boy was not with him all the time."_

"Yes, sir. It seems he usually stays for breakfast. He tends to come back around 5 or 6 in the afternoon."

"…_Good. I want my brother by the end of tomorrow."_

"Understood, sir."

"_Oh, and…Uriel."_

"Sir?"

"_I'm quite sure Gabriel will be there. Don't kill him. Just give him a…reminder of the consequences of attempting to keep my brother from me."_

"…With pleasure, sir."

* * *

Emily was wiping the tables of the café clean. After breakfast rush, they usually had about an hour or two before people started showing up for a midday coffee stop. Plus it was a Friday, and a lot of people's Christmas break started after that weekend, so there was bound to be a few more customers than usual. _Christmas always brings out the sweet tooth in people_. That's what Gabriel kept saying cheerily, and Emily couldn't help but smile. This was obviously one of Gabriel's favorite holidays.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed as someone else walked up to her by the table, and looked up in surprise when another hand joined hers and helped her clean. She was met with blue eyes and a soft smile, and she could feel herself blush as she smiled back. Castiel was one of the kindest people she knew. He was a bit awkward, and didn't always understand Dean's sayings – something that had made her laugh a few times already, especially with the confused tilt of his head and Dean's exasperated eye roll at his lack of understanding – but it only made him all the more endearing. And despite his usually silent personality, she'd found that he was very sweet and polite, and had helped her feel at ease during the first nervous days working at the café.

"Alright, kiddos." Gabriel's voice reached them, and as she turned to look at him, she felt another blush creep up her face at the knowing look in his golden eyes. "Seems like we can take a well deserved break." He grinned, "Hot chocolate, anyone?"

"That would be great, thanks." She replied with a smile. Gabriel's hot chocolate was frankly the best she'd ever had, and the cold weather outside only made it more appetizing.

Castiel's smile widened slightly. It made him look younger, almost childish, and Emily marveled at how the mere mention of hot chocolate could take down all those layers of careful politeness. It made her wonder if this was something Gabriel and him had done when they were little.

"Alrighty then!" he skipped behind the counter with his usual grin, "Oh! Cassie, you mind checking the oven?"

Castiel rolled his eyes, a gesture that she'd only seen him use when dealing with his brother's antics, "What have you done now?"

Gabriel gasped, bringing his hand to cover his mouth, offended, "You wound me, Castiel, why must you always suspect me so?" Emily giggled.

"Because I know you far too well to think otherwise, Mr. Trickster." There was a smile in his eyes, and Emily could see right through the overly stoic face he was making.

The _Trickster_ grinned, a truly mischievous smile that made Emily think of the stories she used to read when she was younger, where playful and colorful creatures had fun confusing humans with their tricks and pranks. "Alright, Feathers, you got me." He raised his eyebrows, "Now clean your favorite brother's mess?"

Castiel sighed, "You're impossible." But he started walking around the counter and towards the door to the kitchen.

"But you still love me," Gabriel replied cheekily, same grin plastered on his face.

Emily laughed and followed after Castiel, "It's okay, Cas. I'll help you." She couldn't really help calling him by his nickname. Dean used it all the time, and it was catchy.

Castiel gave her a small grateful smile, and they both walked into the kitchen. Sure enough, there was quite a mess of burnt dough in the oven, and Castiel heaved a sigh as he went to start cleaning it, Emily moving in to help him.

"One would think Gabriel would know his way around an oven by now." she commented in amusement. It was the third time something like this had happened this week; although something in the man's eyes made her think it might not have been just accidents.

"I'm fairly certain he does it just to spite me." Castiel replied, the annoyance in his gruff voice making her laugh.

They had just started cleaning in a comfortable silence when the muffled sound of a bell reached her ears. Raising her eyebrows, she wondered who it could be. She'd sort of gotten used to the few hours of no customers after the morning rush. Standing up, she peeked through the small window on the door. A tall, black man was standing at the door. She frowned. She'd crossed paths with him before her first day at the café. She hadn't seen him since, though.

As the man started speaking however, she took a hesitant step back. He sounded kind of scary, and glancing back at Castiel she saw him tense. He'd also stood to peek through the small window, but by the look on his face, he knew exactly who the stranger was. Gabriel had walked around the counter, and was talking to the man in a less than friendly tone. Their voices were too muffled to distinguish them however, so she couldn't understand what they were saying. She was about to ask Castiel what the man could be doing there when a loud gunshot was heard, followed by a scream of pain.

A hand covered her mouth, preventing her scream from being heard, and she felt Castiel's chest behind her back as he held her still. Eyes wide in panic, she looked up at him. Gabriel was nowhere in sight anymore. She felt panic take hold of her, and tears soon started to burn at her eyes.

Castiel was pale, his eyes wide with fear. Then it was gone. He looked down at her, face calm, voice serious and quiet. "Listen to me, Emily. Stay here. Don't leave this room under any circumstance. No matter what happens, you stay here until he's gone." She could feel her heart hammering against her chest, but she swallowed the knot in her throat and nodded jerkily. His hand left her mouth slowly, and he turned her around, his hands on her shoulders. "Once he's gone, call 911." He gave her a sad smile and pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry."

"Castiel!" the man outside called, making her jump with fear. Castiel's features hardened as he glanced at the door. Then he let go of her and walked out to meet the psychopath. As though his presence had been the only thing holding her up, she crumbled down to her knees, shaking with fear. Hearing Castiel's voice, she crawled to the door, pressing herself as close to it as she could, trying to hear what they were saying.

The man with the gun said something about taking Castiel, and she bit her lip, moving her legs to press them to her chest, mouthing denials as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Castiel was quiet, but she could suddenly hear Gabriel's angry voice, and she shuddered in relief at knowing he was really alive. Suddenly, it was as though the thickness of the door was nonexistent, and she could hear Castiel's words clearly.

"I'll do it. Take me. Just don't kill Gabriel."

After that, it was a mess of yells from Gabriel, combined with the loud beating of her heart in her ears as she tried to muffle her sobs with her hands. There was the sound of a hit, and Gabriel's voice was gone. Castiel sounded angry after that, but then she heard the same sound and didn't hear him again. There was the sound of the bell as the door was opened, then silence.

For long painful minutes, Emily just sat there, eyes wide, trembling with fear and confusion. What had just happened? Why? She'd just found her place again, why did things like this always happen to her? Did she not deserve to be happy?

Not hearing anything else, she pushed herself to her feet and glanced out the small window before slowly walking out. Once she was sure the man (and Castiel) had disappeared, she ran to Gabriel, kneeling down next to him. He'd been shot in the leg, and there was a bruise forming on his temple. The man must have hit him with his gun. While he seemed to be breathing and alive, there was still a lot of blood. She ran to the kitchen and found a rag, then rushed back to Gabriel and pressed it to the wound.

As she thought desperately of what to do next, she remembered Castiel's last words to her, and dug up her phone from her pocket, dialing 911. It rang three times before she heard a voice on the other end. And she couldn't help but to sob in relief.

* * *

"Sam, I swear, if I have to get in another store with you I will use my gun." Dean groaned as they walked through the mall. His brother was freaking indecisive, and clearly Jessica's gift had to be perfect or nothing. They had visited over a dozen stores in barely two hours. If he wasn't sure before, he could now confirm that Sam was most definitely a chick.

"Right, right, stop whining and keep looking."

"I'm not whining," he scowled, "Unlike you, I'm not a girl, Samantha."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Oh, look! How about this one?"

Dean groaned as Sam spotted a new store to their left and quickly made his way to it. Rubbing his eyes in annoyance, he shook his head and followed after the giant. As they went in, he looked around. Yep. Pretty much exactly the same as all the others. _Yippee_.

"Dean, come here, take a look at this." Heaving a sigh, he trudged towards Ginormo, who was looking at a few silver and diamond necklaces. They were pretty, but so were the ones they'd seen in the other stores, and still Sammy was not friggin' convinced.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He mumbled. Fortunately, his phone chose that moment to ring, and he glanced up at his brother with a triumphant grin that was greeted by Sam's bitch face #9. Not looking at the caller id, he flipped the phone open and winked at his brother as he answered. "Yeah."

"Dean," Bobby's voice made his smile widen. He'd been expecting a call from the old man regarding the Christmas dinner that Ellen had practically threatened everybody into.

"Hey, Bobby, what's up?"

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," he frowned, "Listen, I just got a call from the hospital."

"What? Why? What happened?" he tensed, taking a few steps away from Sam and the shop assistant, who'd looked up in curiosity at his sudden change of mood. Sam himself had turned around to look at him, a frown marring his brow.

"It's Gabriel." He heard Bobby sigh at the other end, and Dean felt his stomach drop. "As I understand it, someone walked in a shot him in the leg, but that's all I know. Emily's in shock. She hasn't really talked to anyone about what happened." He waited for a few seconds, expecting an update on his best friend. It didn't come.

"What about Cas, Bobby? Is he okay?" At his question, Sam walked hurriedly towards him, eyes worried, and Dean exchanged a look with him as he waited for an answer.

"He wasn't in the café when the ambulance got there." His heart stopped, "That's all I know, son. Gabriel's unconscious and Emily's practically catatonic. It's why I called you, really. I'm thinking if anyone can calm her down it'd be you."

Dean nodded numbly, forcing himself to calm down. Frowning as he steeled himself, he replied, "You got it. I'll call you as soon as I find out." Hanging up the phone, he took a moment to think the possibilities through, then started walking quickly out of the store.

"Dean, what happened?" Sam asked as he caught up with him, "Is Cas okay?"

He didn't reply immediately, but when he did his voice was dark and controlled, coated with the anger that always dripped from his voice whenever he dealt with a case. "I don't know, Sam."

Sam didn't ask further questions, which was a huge relief. As soon as they got in the car, he could feel the change in his brother, and as he glanced at him briefly, he saw the same focus and frown that he knew was reflected in his own face.

"Are we going to the café?" he shook his head as he started the car.

"The hospital." That made Sam's worry shine through, and he didn't have to ask for Dean to know what to answer. "Gabriel got shot. Emily's in shock." He paused slightly, swallowing his fear, "And Cas is missing."

"Missing?" Sam hesitated before asking, "You think Lucifer—?"

"I don't know." He sighed, rubbing his face as he sped through the Highway, "But we're gonna find out."

The rest of the ride was spent in a tense silence, and as they rushed into the hospital, the receptionist had apparently been waiting for them. She stood up and asked, "Detective Winchester?"

"That's me." He nodded, not stopping as she immediately started guiding them through the hallways. "How's Gabriel?"

"He's okay." She assured them, "Fortunately the bullet didn't do a lot of damage, he's just lost a lot of blood. The aggressor hit him in the head, though, so he has a bit of a concussion. He hasn't said anything since we agreed to contact you, but he's awake. You should be able to talk to him."

He nodded, face grave, "What about Emily?"

"I'm afraid she's still a bit in shock. She calmed down as soon as Gabriel woke up, but she's not being very responsive to questioning." She stopped by a door. "I'm afraid there's not much else I can tell you, detective."

"We'll take it from here, thank you." He thanked.

"Press the caller by the bed if you need anything." She gave them a small smile before walking back to the lobby.

Dean and Sam exchanged looks before steeling themselves and stepping into the room. Gabriel looked up, his eyes dead. He had a mean looking bruise on the side of his forehead, and Dean could only figure the bastard that had shot him had knocked his lights out with the butt of his gun. It took him a second to recognize them, but when he did a bit of life came back to him, and he managed a small grin.

Dean went to stand by the bed, and Sam walked to the back of the room to sit by Emily, who jumped slightly as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Gabe." He allowed his hardened mask to fade as he met the man's eyes. "How's the leg?"

Gabriel huffed, "Numb. Can't feel a thing, Winchester, so don't worry about little old me and let's get to the important part."

Dean smiled a little despite himself, but the smile soon faded as the reason for Castiel's absence was only made more obvious. "What happened?" he could hear Emily start crying softly in the background, and Sam's soothing voice trying to comfort her.

Gabriel sighed, eyes darkening, "Uriel. That's what happened."

Dean felt anger spark within him, eyes wide in disbelief. "_Uriel_?" he repeated. He rubbed his face as he tried to calm down. He should have known. He should have fucking known. There'd been something off about that guy, and if he hadn't ignored his instincts then maybe Cas—

"Dean. _Breathe_." He heard Gabriel say, and he let out a shuddering breath as he slumped down into the chair by the bed. Once he'd calmed down a bit, Gabriel started explaining again. "Giant dickwad's apparently working for Lucifer." He sneered, "He just waltzed in and demanded I tell him were Castiel was." He sighed, "Thank God he and Emily were in the kitchen, or I don't—" he clenched his jaw, "I don't know what that asshole would have done to Emily. I'm pretty sure the only reason he didn't kill me is because Lucifer told him not to. If he'd found any other people, he would've just erased them from the map."

Dean could only agree with him, and he glanced briefly at the sobbing girl sitting by Sam. He looked down with a sigh before looking up, "What about Cas?"

"He saved my ass," Gabriel swallowed, his voice strained, "Stupid idiot that he is." He laughed, rubbing his eyes. "Uriel was getting angry. He'd already shot me in the leg, but I'm pretty sure he would have killed me if Cas hadn't come out of the kitchen." Dean clenched his jaw. "He just—" Gabe waved a hand and let it fall on his lap, "Turned himself in and asked Uriel not to kill me." He chuckled brokenly, "Some big brother I am, if my baby brother has to give himself up to save my ass for not being able to keep my mouth shut."

Dean took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked down.

_Cas, you idiot._

"Now Lucifer has him." Gabriel finished. "And it's all my fault."

"No." Gabriel's eyes widened slightly at his firm tone, "It's not your fault. The only people that are to blame here are that psycho brother of yours and that Junkless son of a bitch." He stood up. "Leave the rest to me." His eyes softened slightly, "Get some rest, Gabe. You look like shit."

To his side, he could hear Sam and Emily standing up, and he turned to face them. Emily's eyes were still shinning with tears, and her cheeks were red from rubbing her face dry so many times. "Dean." Her voice shook slightly, and he closed the distance between them to pull her into a hug. She clung to him, burying her face in his chest. "I should have stopped him." He hugged her tighter, "I shouldn't have let him go out there."

"Don't think like that," he assured her, "It's not your fault."

They stayed like that for a while, her blaming herself and him whispering assurances to her until she calmed down. All the while Sam had been talking to Gabriel. As he stepped back, Dean gave her a small smile and wiped her tears.

"You want me to drop you off at your place?" he offered.

She shook her head, sniffing and wiping her face dry with her sleeve. "I'd…" she glanced at Gabriel, "I'd like to stay here with Gabriel a little longer." Dean's eyes softened and he nodded.

"Alright." He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, "Call me if you need anything, okay? And don't worry," his eyes promised her as she met his eyes again, "We'll get him back."

* * *

The first thing Castiel felt was pain; thundering heavily between his temples.

He couldn't see anything, his vision blurred as he tried to make out where he was and how he'd gotten there. With a groan, he tried to move his hands to his head, only to feel them bound tightly to the chair he was sitting on. Frowning in confusion, he glanced back to see a rope, and his heart started beating faster as the memories of what had happened started flooding his mind without mercy.

Swallowing the knot in his throat, he looked around. He was in some dark room, he could vaguely distinguish a table and a bed not far from where he was sitting. As his vision got better, he glanced back at the ropes around his wrists and tugged brusquely, only succeeding in rubbing his skin raw. Before he attempted to free himself again, steps echoed from outside the room, and he tensed, heart beating heavily against his ribcage.

A door to his side creaked open, and someone let themselves in. The room was still too dark to see who it was, but the voice that reached his ears was one that had been branded to his memory.

"Hello, brother."

He was suddenly blinded by a white light, and he ducked his head and clenched his eyes shut. As they started getting used to the light, he opened them to glance up at his brother. His vision swam for a few moments before he managed to see him more clearly. He felt his blood run cold as he recognized the blond hair and heartless smile. But what sent a shiver of horror up his spine were the icy gray-blue eyes looking back at him. Swallowing the knot in his throat, he managed to keep his voice slightly steady.

"Lucifer."


	8. Fallen Angels

**A.N. **_I know I keep apologizing for the late updates, but I am so sorry! I've been having serious writer's block, and I can't even write a decent chapter. I'm taking a trip for a few days so hopefully that will help my inspiration and I'll have a longer and better chapter for your Christmas present. Thank you so much for your support and your comments! They help a lot! As always, feel free to give any suggestions you might ha_ve, they are greatly appreciated and taken into consideration :)

**Disclaimer: **_We all know Supernatural is not, nor will it ever be, mine._

* * *

"Lucifer." As his vision cleared, the sight of his brother's cold eyes only made Castiel shiver in fear.

"It's been too long, Castiel," Lucifer drawled, like he was tasting the name after not saying it for a long time. He stepped closer, and Castiel couldn't help but flinch as Lucifer raised a hand towards his face. Feeling Lucifer pause briefly, he kept his eyes on the wall in front of him, clenching his jaw while willing his heart to slow down. His brother chuckled quietly, his hand coming to finally touch Castiel's cheek. He tensed. "You've grown so much since I last saw you."

If he didn't know any better, Castiel would have thought there was warmth in those words. Only he did know better. That same voice had talked of family and love and care while scarring his body in ways that still haunted his dreams. No. Lucifer's warmth was not real. It was possessive. It was deranged. It saddened Castiel to think that his brother had lost his mind like this. Because as much as Lucifer scared him, Castiel still couldn't bring himself to hate his older brother. Because Lucifer _had_ taken care of him, once upon a time, before everything became too much and he changed from the caring brother he had known and loved to the source of all his nightmares.

Closing his eyes briefly, Castiel thought of all the good memories he had of Lucifer, of his big brother Lucius. Lu. When he opened them to look at Lucifer, he found himself hoping he'd see something of the old Lu in those gray eyes.

"What happened to you, brother?" he asked quietly. "Why are you doing this?"

Lucifer's eyes searched his own. And Castiel thought for a moment that there was still hope. That his brother would realize what he was doing and let him go. But then Lucifer smiled; a cold, amused smile that made his hope shatter into nothing. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, little brother." He tilted his head slightly, "What's the matter? Don't you remember all the fun we used to have together?"

Castiel let out a shuddering breath and looked down, hiding his expression from Lucifer. He felt his brother's breath near his ear and he turned his face away, clenching his eyes shut. "Do you still have those scars I gave you?" Castiel shivered in fear, feeling the marred skin on his shoulder blades burning behind him. He could feel Lucifer smiling against his ear, "I'll take that as a yes. How about you let me see them, then." It wasn't a question, but Castiel still found himself turning frightened eyes towards his brother.

"No." he begged. "Please, Luciu—" his head was yanked back as Lucifer's hand gripped his hair forcefully.

"That's not my name, Castiel." Cold eyes roamed Castiel's face as he pulled his little brother's head further back, exposing a vulnerable throat. A small smile pulled his lips upward as Castiel swallowed thickly. "I fell from our Father's grace a long time ago. It is only fitting to call me by the name of the Fallen now, don't you think?" he moved Castiel's head to the side, as though he was examining a piece of merchandise. Lucifer's voice was contemplative as his free hand moved to stroke a line down Castiel's neck, making the younger man wince. "The little angel of the family. Castiel. It seems my last attempt was not enough to rip the wings from your back." He made a quiet, non-committal sound, "Guess I'll have to try again."

Castiel felt his heart hammering behind his ribs, the memories of burning pain still fresh in his mind. Opening his eyes to look at Lucifer, his voice was hoarse with fear, "You're insane." To his horror, Lucifer only chuckled and let his head go, walking around behind the chair as he started fiddling with his bound wrists. "Lucifer, _please_. Brother, don't do this."

"Now, now, Castiel." Lucifer chided, almost playfully, "I only do this for your own good, little brother; so that we can be together. Father abandoned us, he's dead for all we know. He was selfish and left his family to drown alone without him, so why should you want to remain a part of it?"

"He is not dead." He snarled, "He'll come back."

Lucifer let out a laugh, sounding almost surprised, "Castiel," he drawled. He chuckled quietly, hands going back to work at the knot, "I don't understand why you still have faith in someone like that. He abandoned us. He left us behind. Am I really the only one who's learned to admit it?" Castiel didn't answer, "He named us after angelic beings. It's only logical for me to reject that notion in every way I can."

"_How_?" Castiel asked in disbelief, "We're not angels, Lucifer, we're human beings. This…this idea of _falling_ doesn't make any sense. It doesn't change anything."

"Maybe." Lucifer admitted, "But either way I'll be defiling everything he wanted us to be. All that perfection, all that expectation and responsibility; all that _innocence_. I will destroy it."

Castiel remained quiet for a moment as he felt the rope start to loosen, "It won't bring Father back." He said quietly.

Lucifer paused, "Who says I want him back?" But Castiel knew he'd struck a nerve. Lucifer had loved their father dearly, and his disappearance had hurt him most out of all of them. His brother's hesitation was enough for Castiel to smash his head back against Lucifer's face. He heard a pained grunt as Lucifer jerked back, and he quickly freed his hands from the loose rope and worked on the knots at his ankles, getting rid of them easily.

Jumping out of the chair and turning to face his brother, he saw the surprise in Lucifer's face as he nursed his bloody nose and lip. Castiel's stance was tense, ready to defend himself as he spoke, "I'm not a child anymore, Lucifer. I won't submit to you like I did before. I know better."

The expression on his brother's face darkened, and Castiel frowned uneasily, taking a step back. But Lucifer didn't move. His eyes looked down at the blood on his hand, unreadable. "So I take it you learned that from that Winchester boy."

Castiel froze. How did Lucifer know about Dean? "Dean has nothing to do with this."

Lucifer look up, "Oh, I'm sure he does, Castiel. In fact, I _know_ he does. I can only imagine what kind of an influence he's had on you. You've known him for about a year, right?"

Nothing good could come out of this conversation. And the last thing Castiel wanted was for Dean to get involved in this. He paled as he realized that his brother was using his friendship with Dean, the same way he'd used his affection for Amelia all those years ago. Lucifer was going to blackmail him again. He clenched his fists, knuckles white as he looked down. "Dean has nothing to do with this." He repeated, clenching his jaw.

"He has everything to do with this. He has since he became your friend. Because that's all you are, right? _Friends_?"

Castiel frowned in confusion, "I don't understand."

Lucifer smiled, "Still so innocent after all this time, little brother; so vulnerable to the dark intentions of the rest of the world. It seems we'll have to start all over with you." Castiel took a step backward. Lucifer raised his hand, beckoning him closer. "Come."

Shaking his head as panic started taking over once again, he turned around and ran, only for a large hand to wrap around his neck and slam him against the wall, punching the air out of his lungs. Castiel gaped helplessly for breath, his hands gripping at the wrist of the offender, and as he opened his eyes, he felt another pang of betrayal at the sight of Uriel. His lips moved around the name, but no sound was heard.

"That's enough, Uriel." The pressure disappeared, and Castiel's knees gave out as he coughed chokingly, breathing harshly with a hand on his throat. He heard steps and then his brother's hand yanked his head back, gripping his hair tightly; and even then Lucifer's expression could have been considered soft as he looked down at his little brother. "I would think you'd understand the situation by now, Castiel." Castiel glared up at him, "Now be a good little brother and do what you're told, unless you want me to bring you Dean Winchester's head in a gift bag. It _is_ almost Christmas, after all."

Fear for his friend's life gnawed at his heart, and he sank further down against the wall, wincing as he was kept up by the hand clutching his hair. His voice was hoarse and broken as he finally gave in, "Do what you want. Please, brother, just don't hurt Dean." His fear would not bring about Dean's death. Dean had too many people who loved him. He didn't deserve to be pulled in the middle of his brother's insanity. He closed his eyes as Lucifer spoke, and Castiel could hear the sheer satisfaction in his brother's voice, "Good." He let go of his hair, and Castiel fell back against the wall. "Now let's take a look at those beautiful scars of yours, shall we? Can't let your wings grow back out."

He remained silent as he was pulled to his feet and his shirt was yanked from his body, almost like a lifeless rag doll as he was pushed face first onto the bed and his wrists were handcuffed to the bedposts. But as soon as Lucifer straddled his back, Castiel couldn't help the fear that attacked his heart nor the strangled sob that left his lips as he felt the cold edge of a knife trail gently down the scars on his shoulder blades.

"Shhhh," he clenched his eyes shut as his brother whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, brother. I will free you from his leash. Soon, you'll be free, Castiel. Soon we will both be free from him."

* * *

Dean was just seconds away of smashing his fist against the wall. It had been two days since Cas had disappeared and they still didn't have any freaking leads. He was about to look for someone to yell at when a knock on his door made him jump.

"_What!"_ he snarled, turning around to face the intruder.

"Don't you get that tone with me, boy." He stopped himself as Bobby opened the door, rubbing his face in frustration. "I know you're worried about Cas, Dean, but walkin' around lookin' like you're just waitin' for someone to snap at ain't gonna help that kid any."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his jaw. It wasn't Bobby's fault this was happening, if anything, it was his. He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like that if he wanted to find Cas. "Sorry. I just—" he looked at his surrogate father, eyes pained and helpless, "It's been two days, Bobby. We have no leads. Lucifer could have taken him anywhere."

"I know, son. But I'm pretty sure I just found you a lead so stop mopin' and listen."

"What?" his eyes widened slightly, and he took a few steps towards the old man. "You found a lead? When? What is it?"

"Not so much a what as a who. Annoying as hell as he might be, he has good sources."

"Okay?" he raised his eyebrows expectantly, "So where is he?"

"Right behind you." Dean all but jumped out of his skin as a smoky voice that he'd never heard before answered him. He was met with a man in…well, a _man in black_. Black suit, black shirt, all accentuated by his pristine white tie. Talk about ostentatious, if his mind wasn't already on overdrive with Castiel's absence he would have sent a mocking comment the shorter man's way. But if they needed him, Dean knew he'd have to control himself. Or at least try.

"And who are you? Houdini? Can't you use a door like a normal person or are you just too classy for that?" he snarled, frown deepening as the other man only appeared amused at his outburst.

"Name's Crowley." Dean knew a fake name when he heard it.

"Right. And I'm and angel of the Lord, what's your real name?"

"None of your business." The shorter man replied easily. "My name won't do anything to help your blue-eyed friend, but if you'd like to waste the short time he has left trying to find out what it is," he raised his eyebrows, "then by all means, go ahead."

Dean's throat clogged at the mention of Castiel. "You know where Cas is? How?"

"I hear things," Crowley shrugged, "My sources are far better informed and more efficient than yours. One of the perks of being king of the black market." Dean's eyes narrowed, but he didn't ask. "Also, it might have something to do with one of my employees playing a big part on freeing Lucifer from his lovely vacation in prison."

"_What?_" he snarled, feeling Bobby tense behind him as well, "You're the one that let him out!"

"Not me," Crowley responded, unimpressed by his outburst, "One of my employees. Do you have something stuck in your ears or will I have to repeat everything I say before you get it?" he was greeted by glares and sighed, rolling his eyes slightly, "Turns out I had the captain of the Lucifer fan club working for me. Talk about luck." He muttered sarcastically, "Thing is, she wasn't too careful about using my resources to get the subject of her obsession out of jail," his eyebrows arched slightly, a small smirk tilting his lips up, "nor to get a hold of that gigantic, scary guard of Michael's."

"So you _know_ where they've taken him?" Dean pressed, tired of the demon's (because he really couldn't be anything but) monologue.

Crowley's stance screamed smug as he gifted them with one of his condescending little smirks, "I do."

"And you're just gonna tell us out of the goodness of your heart? What do you want?" his eyes narrowed as he studied Crowley's face, looking for traces of dishonesty.

The man in black stared right back at him, dark gray eyes fixated on his own green ones. It was a moment until he answered, and Dean thought Crowley might have even looked uncomfortable, or maybe just annoyed, "Lucifer is a danger to my business. Too many people are scared of him, he could turn my little slice of Heaven into a mafia full of hotheaded animals just running around cutting down whoever they want. In other words, make my life a living Hell, and that's just about the last thing I need right now. Taking him out works for both our bests interests."

Dean watched the man for a moment. It made sense for him to get rid of Lucifer, and it had already been too long since Castiel had been taken. They had no time to think this through. "Alright, fine."

Crowley' smile was almost grateful, but Dean chose to ignore that and stick to the thought that he was dealing with a demon instead. He didn't trust the guy, whether he was helping them or not.

"Pleasure to do business with you."


	9. Broken

_**A.N. **__FORGIVE ME! I know I promised I'd try to update sooner but I'm just suffering of a massive case of writer's block! It feels like I'm forcing the words out and I hate that, gah. Anyway...(takes a deep breath)...someone asked if we were going to see Michael or Raphael. Surprise! Also, I used Gabriel and Lucifer's dialogue from the actual show, but I had to change it a bit to fit the context. Hope it's not too messed up. Please continue to review, I love reading your comments, and I'm in terrible need of suggestions. Although I should be able to finish the story in a couple more chapters, so let's hope my muse stops giving me the cold shoulder. Anyways, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT SO FAR._

_**Disclaimer: **Supernatural and its wonderful characters are sadly not mine.  
_

* * *

Dean was fuming. He'd been discussing terms with that demonic son of a bitch Crowley for about an hour and he just couldn't get out of that room fast enough. He yanked his coat from the chair and stomped out of his office. The chuckle that followed after him was just short of making him turn around and shoot the guy. As he went to exit the building, he (almost literally) ran into a tall man with a pretty expensive suit (not that Dean gave a crap, but in a town like this one clothes like that tend to stand out).

Grumbling out an apology, he went to walk around the guy when a calm voice, with a tone that almost immediately pissed him off even more than he already was, stopped him in his tracks.

"Dean Winchester." He froze, taking a long breath to stop himself from lashing out. And he was _this _close.

"Yeah." He didn't turn around, trying to make it evident that he wasn't planning on staying any longer.

"I believe you know my brothers, Castiel and Gabriel." Dean's stomach turned upside down, and he felt sick at the mention of those names. He couldn't stop thinking of what that psycho would be doing to Castiel right now, and thinking of Gabriel waiting out in the hospital didn't calm him down any.

As he turned around, Dean finally took his time to look at the man. He had dark hair and blue eyes, colors that made his heart clench with thoughts of his best friend. Heaving a sigh, Dean suddenly felt exhausted. He wasn't in the mood to talk with this guy right now.

"So which one are you? Michael or Raphael?" he asked, green eyes digging into stoic blue ones.

The man arched an eyebrow, as though surprised that Dean would know of the members of the Novak family. "I am Michael." The way he said it, like he expected Dean to bow down and apologize, made Dean's anger come roaring back. He was already dying to punch the guy in the face.

"Well, unless you're here to tell me that Cas is safe and that psycho's locked up for good, I'd suggest you turn tail and leave, _Mikey_." He sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because some of us are actually trying to get shit done." He felt a brief satisfaction at the surprise in Michael's eyes and was about to turn around again and leave the pompous bastard standing there when he was addressed once again by His Majesty.

"I suggest you treat me with more respect, detective. I have done nothing for you to talk to me like that." Dean felt anger boil inside him and turned an icy glare at the man.

"That's just my point, you son of a bitch. You've done _nothing_ to get your brother back, while we've been here busting our asses trying to find a way to save him."

Michael actually didn't rise to the bait and stayed calm, which only frustrated Dean more. "I'm trying to help my brother."

"It's been _three days_, damn it!" he finally exploded, taking a step closer to Michael. He knew all eyes were on them, and that he should control himself before he did something stupid; but he couldn't care less. "And where the hell have you been, huh? Waiting warm and safe at home for Cas to be delivered back while you sat quietly with your thumbs up your ass?"

Dean could see the rage in Michael's eyes now, could see him just _itching_ to give Dean a piece of his mind. But instead he glowered coldly at him and responded with forced calm, "You shouldn't be so quick to judge, detective." He glared, "I'm worried about my brother. Otherwise I wouldn't have come here to ask you for help."

Surprised at the honest concern that was finally noticeable in Michael's eyes, Dean forced himself to calm down. Glancing around them briefly, he nodded towards his office, well aware that Crowley and Bobby were probably still in there. Taking a deep breath to ready himself, he guided Michael to the room.

Dean noticed the coldness coming from the man beside him the moment they walked in, and looked between Crowley and Michael with a confused frown.

"What is this _filth_ doing here?" he asked, lip curling in disgust around the word.

"This _filth_," Crowley responded immediately, a polite smile that was betrayed by the look of dislike in his eyes, "Is the one who found your beloved baby brother."

Dean felt hatred emanating from Michael in waves, "Never took you for one to deal with the law, Crowley. I trust your business is not completely ruined just yet?"

Crowley's eyes narrowed, a short humorless chuckle heaving his shoulders up, "It will run smoothly once I've gotten rid of your satanic brother." Michael was full on throwing daggers at him, "I must admit, though, I never thought I'd see you reduce yourself to asking the help of a small town police department." He smirked, "How the mighty have fallen."

"Alright, ladies, shut your cake holes." Bobby interrupted. "Let's get down ta business." He looked at Dean, nodding at him to start explaining.

"We already know were Lucifer's taken Cas. The only problem we have right now is back up." He glanced at Michael, "We don't have many officers that are trained for this kind of intervention, and frankly most are too young or too old to go out to the field." He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. He just wanted to get his friend back, shoot Lucifer in the ass and sleep for a couple of years.

Michael nodded, back to his calm and stoic self. "That won't be a problem. Just tell me how many people you want and I'll arrange for them to be sent here immediately." Dean didn't comment on the way Michael talked about officers like they were merchandise, the guy was actually helping.

"Great. Bobby, think you can figure out the numbers?"

"Sure thing."

"Well that's one problem solved," Dean turned his eyes to Crowley, "Are you willing to send some of your people, are you coming…what's your plan?"

"I'm coming." Dean raised his eyebrows, he would've taken Crowley to be the kind of guy to sit back and let his stooges do the dirty work. It seemed like Crowley noticed his surprise and let out a breath, "That little fanatic Satanist worked for me, I need to make sure she learns not to cross me." He arched an eyebrow, "If you want a job well done…" he didn't finish, smirking in a way that make Dean feel bad for the stupid bitch that had let Lucifer out.

"Fine, whatever." His eyes turned serious, "But don't expect us to cover your ass. You go in there, you watch your own back."

"And here I thought you and I were starting to be friends." Crowley said sarcastically, his grin widening slightly when Dean rolled his eyes.

"I'm coming too." They all turned around to see Gabriel leaning on the doorframe.

"Gabe, what the—?" his question was interrupted by Michael's reprimanding tone.

"Gabriel." Golden eyes looked up to meet blue ones.

"Hey, bro." he greeted, tone lazed with bitterness, "Finally moved out of Daddy's chair? Thought you'd fly down and visit the family?"

Michael remained quiet, meeting Gabriel's glare but not rising to the bait.

"Gabe you should be in the hospital," Dean took over, stepping over to the shorter man, not liking the way he was putting his weight on the door. "Your leg—"

"Is perfectly fine, Dean-o." he finished with a small grin, "I could care less what you think I should be doing right now. If you're going to get Cas, I'm going with you. Besides, Luci needs a spanking." Dean looked at Gabriel in the eyes, could see the way he was pleading him to understand. He did understand. Gabriel had never forgiven himself for leaving Castiel alone after what had happened with Lucifer the first time. He wanted to step up to the plate and have a hand in saving his little brother; the way he couldn't do last time. "I'm done running." He added quietly, only for Dean to hear.

Heaving a sigh, he nodded, patting Gabriel's shoulder reassuringly. "You gonna need crutches?" he teased.

Gabriel snorted, back in character, "_Please_. With a couple of painkillers, I'll be fit to run a marathon." He paused, glancing down at his leg briefly, "Maybe."

Dean chuckled, glancing behind him to see that Michael and Crowley were discussing the op with Bobby. Looking back at Gabe, he kept his voice quiet as he asked, "How's Emily?"

Gabriel's eyes softened, "She's better. Finally convinced her to go home and get some rest; I'm pretty sure she hasn't slept since…" he stopped himself, looking down. Dean nodded, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"We'll get him back, Gabe." Golden eyes met his, and Dean met them with as much confidence as he could muster, "I promise."

Gabriel chuckled quietly, "Don't make any promises you can't make, Winchester," he shook his head, but Dean could see the hope in his eyes, "But let's hope you're right."

"We'll be ready to go in a few hours; as soon as Mikey can get our back up here." Gabriel snickered at the nickname, "Until then, you should get some rest. You come in your car, or do you need a ride home?"

"Wouldn't dream of rejecting a ride in that beautiful car of yours, Dean-o."

* * *

Dean glanced at Gabriel, unable to ignore the way he limped towards the entrance of the building. This really couldn't be a good idea, but as an older brother, he understood why Gabriel couldn't just _wait_ for them to bring Cas out. They'd given him a bulletproof vest, and he had actually surprised them by showing them just how well he could use a gun. Scary thought.

But aside from that limp, and whether it was from adrenaline or the amount of pain meds he'd probably taken, Gabriel seemed like he would be okay. He looked to his other side to see Sam. His little brother had received all the training Dean had from their dad, and had refused to stay behind. Dean knew his brother knew what he was doing, but he couldn't help but be worried. Lucifer had done horrible things to his own younger brother, the thought of what he could do to Sammy if things went wrong made him want to send his brother back out with Bobby and their back up.

Crowley walked with them. The demon looked like he knew his ways with a gun, and Dean honestly didn't like the guy, but he didn't want him dead either, so that at least was one less thing he had to worry about.

It was quiet. Eerily so. Dean's nerves were on edge as they walked up the stairs of the old building. He had to admit it, Lucifer had chosen his hideout well. This was a mostly abandoned part of a neighboring town. He was close enough to make threats, but hidden enough that no one could notice what he was doing. Or hear the screams that came from the old hotel. He shook those thoughts away.

It was only the four of them and six of Michael's men. Crowley had informed them that Lucifer didn't really have that many people _here_; that they were all prowling around on the loose. He'd also assured them that getting rid of Lucifer would be like cutting the snake's head, and that his underlings should stop and go into hiding as soon as Lucifer's threat disappeared.

Their target was on the top floor.

Walking carefully up the stairs, they reached the sixth.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here." Dean tensed, gun pointed at the woman that had apparently been waiting for them, accompanied by five big and ugly stooges. Her hands were on her hips as she tilted her head and clicked her tongue playfully, "You really shouldn't have come here, boys."

"Shut the fuck up." Dean growled. He didn't have time for this. Cas didn't have time for this. "Where is he?"

She raised an eyebrow, eyes shining with twisted amusement, "I'm assuming you mean the blue eyed angel?" she smirked, shaking her head, "Oh, Clarence stopped screaming a loooong time ago," she actually seemed turned on by the fact, much to Dean's disgust. And he really wanted to shoot her right now. "Pity," she chuckled breathily, closing her eyes in a mockingly dreamy expression, "He has such a nice raspy voice."

Dean felt hatred boiling inside of him, but before he could snarl a response back, Crowley made his way to the front. The woman's smile widened when she saw him, "Crowley." She drawled.

"Whore." Crowley greeted, raising his eyebrows, unimpressed as always. Dean smirked as the smile left Meg's face — at least he was pretty sure she was the infamous Meg.

"Okay, you know what?" she sneered, nodding at the gorillas behind her. "Sic' em." She ordered, and Dean would have laughed at the fact that they obeyed like a bunch of dogs if he wasn't in a hurry. He pointed at the first guy coming at them, but Crowley was faster.

Without batting an eyelash, the demon (he had to be) shot the guys in between the eyes, and they fell to the ground with a thud practically at the same time. Exchanging an impressed look with Sam, he looked back to see Meg stare at Crowley with hatred and something akin to fear.

Crowley shrugged, "What?" Dean could hear the satisfaction in his voice, "You really thought Lucifer didn't see you as a filthy bag of pus like he sees everyone outside of his family? My, my," she fell to the floor with an agonized scream as Crowley shot her in the knee. "You really are a stupid little girl." he tsked.

Dean frowned as Meg pressed a hand to her wounded knee, trying but unable to keep the pain from her expression. Before he could say anything, however, Crowley turned to look at him and rolled his eyes. "Are you going to stay and watch the show, or are you going to be the knight in shinning armor and slay the monster upstairs?" Dean glared at him, "I told you, as soon as I found her, I'd deal with her." He nodded towards the stairs that continued up the building, "Now get going, you functioning morons."

The detective felt a pang of childish indignation and couldn't stop himself before replying lamely, "Y-you're functioning…morons."

Gabriel whistled, "Smooth, Dean-o."

"Shut up."

Sam snorted and patted his shoulder before walking towards the stairs, Dean swiftly catching up to him with Gabriel and Michael's guys on toe. He should've asked their names, but with a brief glance at them, Dean concluded that it would probably be like talking to moving statues. Or robots.

Dean busted his mind trying to think of anything other than Cas at the moment.

_He stopped screaming hours ago…_

That couldn't mean…No. Castiel could not be dead. He couldn't.

As they reached the eighth floor, he barely managed to duck out of the way of a bullet. It struck one of Michael's men in the chest, and Dean glanced at the man briefly as he choked on his own blood on the floor. Clenching his jaw, he searched for the attacker. His anger rose to a whole new level when he found out who it was.

"Uriel." He snarled.

And there the bastard stood, smiling like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life. "Winchester…" he glanced at Sam, "And Winchester." He chuckled briefly before he spotted Gabriel, his smile faded, "Gabriel."

"What's up, Ury?" Gabriel grinned, although the hatred in his eyes made his expression kind of scary, "You know? Dean called you something the other day…" he glanced at Dean and winked, "What was it…I kind of really liked it."

"Junkless?" he offered, humoring him.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, "That's the one!" he threw a sly grin towards the junkless man in question, "Can't believe it'd never occurred to me before. It's so fitting."

Uriel glowered at them, obviously dying to shoot them all dead, "It's a pity Lucifer ordered me not to kill you, Gabriel. You're lucky."

A mocking snort left the shorter man's lips, "Right. Blame your impotence on my big bro. That what you do to justify kidnapping Castiel?"

Uriel's eyes narrowed, but he seemed to lower his guard for a moment, which was all Michael's remaining soldiers needed to step forward and train their guns on Uriel, who was now at a disadvantage. "You go ahead, sir." One of them told Dean, "Mr. Novak has asked us to keep him alive. We'll deal with him."

Dean nodded at them and directed a last glance at Uriel, "Karma's a bitch," he snarled, "Bitch."

Uriel took a step forward in fury, "_You_—"

"Don't move!" he was surrounded by Michael's soldiers (they were stuck with the term now), "Drop your weapon!"

After he heard the telltale clutter of a gun on the floor, Dean deemed it safe to turn his back on Uriel and head up the stairs to the last floor, followed closely by Sam and Gabriel. He didn't like that they were the only ones left, but he had a feeling that Lucifer wouldn't have any of his minions with him.

Just Cas.

He shook the thought away from his mind and kept going. He needed to focus. They reached the last floor, only to find it empty. As he looked around, cold sweat pearling his forehead, their breathing too loud in the otherwise quiet floor, his eyes roamed the doors of the last suites in the floor.

"Dean." He looked at Sam, who was pointing at a door far to their left. It was opened just a crack. Dean suddenly felt his throat tighten, but nodded at Sam.

"Gabe." He muttered, "I…" he licked his dry lips before turning to Gabriel, who seemed to already know what he was going to say. "Are you sure you want to go in?" he met his eyes, "You can wait here, Lucife—"

"Lucifer's my brother too, Dean." He replied in a quiet yet firm voice, "It's time for me to face the music."

He heaved a sigh, nodding numbly before adjusting his grip on his gun. He exchanged a last look with his brother and Gabriel, then walked slowly to the door. It creaked open, the noise making them wince as it shattered the silence around them. With a steadying breath, Dean stepped inside, looking around a small living room. He was fleetingly surprised at the size of the suite. It must have been a nice hotel once upon a time.

"So it's true." A voice broke the silence, making them tense. A man stood in the doorway that lead to the bedroom, leaning against the frame in a way that could only be described as laidback. He was wearing jeans and an open button down green shirt, a dark gray t-shirt underneath it. He looked so freaking…_normal_. His blond hair reminded him more of Gabriel than the other two Novaks he knew, although it was lighter. His eyes, however, they were a grayish blue; cold save for the slight curiosity that seemed to spark in them.

And what was worse; his hands and arms were covered in blood. Specks of the scarlet liquid stained his cheeks and clothes. Dean needed to find Cas. Now.

"The famous Dean Winchester has actually found me."

Dean stayed silent. Something about the man instilled fear inside him. Cold amused eyes moved up to look at Sam, and he felt his instincts fight to take over and shield him from the monster in front of him. "So you must be…" those eyes lit up slightly, "Sam." Dean didn't like the way he said that name, "You are…" his eyes met Dean's once again, "Dean's little brother." A small smile curled his lips up, and he hummed thoughtfully, "Interesting."

Instincts won over caution, and Dean stepped in front of his gigantic brother, eyes gleaming with hatred and warning.

"Stop harassing them, Lucifer." Gabriel's voice almost echoed in the old room.

Lucifer's eyes finally met his brother's, and Dean could have sworn he saw something akin to fondness in them; but it was gone too fast. "You defend them," he seemed surprised, annoyed and indifferent at the same time, "Gabriel. Really. I mean I knew you liked walking around commoners but," he waved his hands slightly, lip slightly curled up in disgust, "I hope you didn't catch anything."

Dean watched as Gabriel's golden eyes softened. Despite everything, Dean could see that Gabe didn't really hate Lucifer. "Lucifer," he sighed, "You're my brother, and I love you." His eyes hardened, "But you are a great big bag of dicks."

"What did you just say to me?" Lucifer walked forward, making Sam and Dean step back, but Gabriel only raised his gun in warning.

"Look at yourself." Gabriel pressed, "Boohoo!" he mocked, "Daddy's not here so now I'm gonna stomp around a slam doors."

"Watch your tone." Lucifer warned, voice quiet and dangerous. It made a chill run up Dean's spine as he watched the encounter, slowly moving towards the bedroom as Lucifer left his post, distracted by Gabriel's taunt.

"Play the victim all you want. But you and me?" Gabriel raised his eyebrows, "We know the truth." Dean paused, looking at Gabriel with a confused frown. He saw from the corner of his eye that Sam did the same. "Dad loved you best." Wow. So Lucifer was just throwing a tantrum? Son of a bitch. "More than Michael, more than me." He paused for a beat, "Probably even more than Castiel."

Dean saw a flash of something in Lucifer's eyes as he watched his brother with a dark expression.

"Then he left us all behind, and _you _couldn't handle it." Dean wasn't sure this was such a great idea, he didn't like the look in Lucifer's eyes. At all. "So all this…" he waved the gun around, "Is just a great, big _temper tantrum_." Gabriel's eyes darkened as he pointed the gun at his brother, "Time to grow up."

"Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael—"

"Screw him! If he were standing here I'd shiv his ass too." Lucifer scoffed.

"You disloyal—" Dean was confused. Why the hell was Lucifer complaining about loyalty now?

"Oh, I'm loyal." Gabriel cut him off, seemingly taking his brother by surprise. "Just not to your messed up cause, or Michael's. I'm here because I love our brother, and you're killing him."

"I'm doing this for him, Gabriel." Lucifer reasoned, making Dean's blood boil with rage. What kind of messed up logic was that?

"_How?_" Gabriel demanded, "And don't tell me this has anything to do with that bull about our names and our expectations, or I might just start crying."

Sam looked at Dean in complete confusion, to which Dean could only reply with a shrug as they continued their slow advance to the bedroom.

"I was everything he wanted me to be!" Lucifer suddenly bellowed, "I fulfilled all my expectations, I took care of all of you after Mother died, I took care of Castiel…" Lucifer was trembling with fury. "And it wasn't enough. He left. He _abandoned us_, and what was I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know, _therapy?_" Gabriel joked, but Dean could see that his eyes held no humor. "Because I'm telling you, what you did to Castiel…" he clenched his jaw, "I just can't understand why. He loved you. He looked up to you more than any of us. How could you do that to him?"

"You said it yourself, brother." Lucifer replied, an odd sadness in his eyes, "He looked up to me. I didn't want him to be like me. To dedicate his life to being perfect only to have his efforts thrown in his face."

"…You wanted him to hate you?" Gabriel repeated, horrified and angered at the same time, "So you just thought you'd break him to the point where we almost lost him? Do you even realize what you've done to him?"

Lucifer smiled. It was a strange smile. Resigned to a destiny that only he knew. "Believe me brother, I do." And with that, he met Dean's eyes for a second before turning to walk to the bedroom, "And I'm not finished. I still need to break him completely. To free him from Father's hold on him."

Three guns were trained on Lucifer before he'd given another step.

"No!" Sam yelled.

"Don't you dare move, you son of a bitch!" Dean finally found his voice, which shook with anger as Lucifer looked back at him calmly.

"I'll do it, Lucifer." Gabriel warned, voice shaking as he took a few steps towards his brother. "Don't turn your back on me, I'll do it." Lucifer turned to face him, and before they could blink, he'd closed the distance between them and towered over Gabriel.

A shot rang in the air.

Dean made his way to them in alarm, but was stopped by Sam.

Lucifer's eyes were warm as he smiled down at Gabriel; sadness, gratitude and a darkness that faded from the blue orbs right in front of their eyes. His lips were tinted with scarlet as he choked out a whisper that was meant only for Gabriel.

"I knew you would, brother." he exhaled.

Gabriel's eyes were wide as his older brother stumbled against him, too small to hold Lucifer's weight as they both sank to their knees. Dean watched helplessly as Gabriel dropped the gun to the floor and clutched his brother's back like his life depended on it, shaking as Lucifer's weight became heavier. As his brother's last breath tickled his neck.

"Dean," he croaked, voice broken, "Please, go check on my brother."

Dean didn't think before rushing into the bedroom, hearing Sam's heavy footsteps behind him. The sight they found there made the air leave their chests as the blood froze in their veins.

Castiel lied on the bloodied sheets of an old bed, unmoving, his back turned towards them. He was shirtless, his mauled skin impossible to miss even in the dark lighting of the room.

"Cas?" Dean breathed, his voice a broken whisper.


	10. Everything's Gonna Be Alright

**A.N.** _SORRY! I know I'm taking forever with my updates for the SPN fics, but I swear, the muse is just being a stubborn bitch. I hope you haven't given up on this story just yet. I will take any complaints you have towards my tardiness as my punishment, and any comments or reviews on the story will result in cookies for everyone involved. I'll make it up to you guys, don't hate me~_

**Disclaimer:** _I wish._

* * *

Dean froze.

Castiel wasn't moving.

Meg's voice echoed in his head over and over as he stared horrified at the bloodied form of his best friend.

_He stopped screaming a loooong time ago_.

Sam ran to Castiel, calling his name in alarm and worry, but Dean couldn't move. He watched with wide eyes, cold sweat on his forehead as his brother worked on the handcuffs that bound Castiel's arms behind his back. He should be the one helping Cas. He should be the one checking his pulse. But he couldn't move.

_His back. Christ…his back._

He couldn't keep his eyes from Castiel's back. It was covered in blood, dry or fresh he couldn't tell, the room was only lit by the moonlight coming from the window. But he could see the gashes; the large gashes along his shoulder blades. He looked like a fallen angel, wings ripped out of him as punishment for his disobedience.

"Dean!"

He flinched, looking at Sam with a look of unabashed fear. Thankfully, his brother was able to act rationally for both of them, "Dean, snap out of it! There's too much blood, he's already in shock! We need to get him to the hospital!"

Shaking off the shock, Dean staggered towards the bed, feeling a wave of nausea crawl up his throat at the smell of all that blood. "Any other wounds?" he finally asked, pushing his horror behind the wall he'd built years ago in order to stomach his job.

"Bruises on his neck and torso. Maybe a couple cracked ribs." Sam observed quickly and effectively, but Dean could see a flash of dread and uncertainty in his brother's eyes as he glanced at Cas's legs. He couldn't have. Not again.

"…Sam?"

"I don't know. But we can't check now, Dean. We have to go." Dean nodded. Honestly, he wanted to hit himself for losing his cool like that. Even if this _was_ Cas, having a nervous breakdown would not help his friend. Reaching over, he patted Castiel's cheek lightly a few times, trying to get a reaction.

"Cas? Cas, come on, man, open your eyes for me." he begged.

Castiel's eyes fluttered open into slits, the normally vivid blue clouded and dark with agony. His breaths were shallow and uneven; they needed to get him out of there. Sam walked away briefly to yell at the radio for an ambulance and two stretchers right the fuck now, before anyone bled to death.

Sitting next to Castiel's prostrate form, Dean leaned in as he noticed the rasping sounds that were coming out of Cas's throat. Placing a hand gently on the nape of his neck, for fear of touching his back, he tried his best to soothe him, "Easy, Cas. You're gonna be okay now, buddy. Everything's gonna be fine."

"D-De…" Cas rasped, his hand suddenly coming to grasp Dean's wrist in a weak hold, and Dean felt a knot in his throat at the sight of his friend like this. Cas's unseeing eyes didn't move from the blood-crusted comforter, "De—" a wet cough made his narrow frame convulse violently, spitting out fresh blood onto the covers, "D-Dean…" Dean's vision blurred, and he clenched his jaw tightly, blinking back tears.

"I'm here, Cas." He said, putting his hand on top of Castiel's, "I'm here."

Cas's lips twitched up in a minute smile before his eyes rolled back, his hand going limp around Dean's wrist.

A hitched breath made him turn to the door, where a very shaken Gabriel stood, Lucifer's blood covering his shirt and hands. His golden eyes were glazed in what seemed to be a memory as he walked towards Castiel, almost in a daze. Dean could only imagine what this must be like for Gabriel; to see his little brother like this a second time.

"…Dean?" Gabriel's eyes never left his brother's back, even as he fearfully asked for his brother's life.

"He's alive, Gabe. He'll be okay, I promise."

Gabriel seemed deaf to his reassurances however, and as he stepped towards Castiel slowly, Dean could see his hands shaking as he reached out for Castiel's mauled back, only to let curl his hand tightly in a fist before placing it gently on Castiel's sweaty, dark hair.

"Castiel…" he swallowed, his voice breaking, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Seconds later, Sam burst inside the room again, followed by two men with a stretcher and Dean watched as they carefully moved his friend from the bed to the stretched, placing him on his stomach to avoid inflicting his back any more pain.

After that, it was a blur of voiced orders, firm steps and two teams hovering over the two unconscious men. Dean barely recalled walking down the stairs. He didn't notice the absence of Meg and Crowley, nor did he think anything of it at the moment. He just wanted to make sure Cas was okay.

_Please, just let him be okay._

* * *

Sam watched silently as his brother paced relentlessly in the waiting room, his back aching from sitting on the uncomfortable plastic chair for what had to be hours now. Gabriel sat next to him, lost in his own mind and so quiet…Sam had never seen the usually cheerful man like this. Gabriel always had something to say. About _everything_. And seeing him rendered speechless did nothing to quell Sam's worry.

"Sam." He looked up to see Jessica rushing towards him, a look of concern on her beautiful face. He stood up and met her halfway, hugging her tightly to him. She buried her face in his chest and whispered reassurances, and it was only then that Sam realized he was trembling.

He may not have been as close to Cas as Dean was, but Sam had come to see him as the closest thing to a best friend he had outside of family; it seemed to be the role the serious and awkward man had taken for both Winchesters. Cas, who understood his passion for history and literature the way his brother didn't, who wouldn't roll his eyes when he got excited about a topic that Dean categorized as nerdy. Cas, who listened without interruption when Sam needed to talk about his frustrations regarding anything; be it his brother, his nightmares, or his job. Castiel, who had become a brother of sorts to Sam, filling the role of both the older, more mature sibling and the confused, little brother who tilted his head curiously at their antics and rants.

He swallowed thickly. Cas, who all this time, had been hiding such a traumatizing experience and memories that Sam was still amazed had not prevented the man from being his usual self. Cas who had managed to hide his pain from them so well that he'd most definitely beat the patented Winchester wall that John Winchester had taught his sons to build around themselves.

Seeing Castiel, his back completely covered in blood, with his shoulder blades practically out for the world to see, Sam had been sure that he was dead. What had been worse than seeing Cas like that, though— if that was possible at all—, was the raw, unabashed fear he'd seen in his brother's eyes upon looking at their friend. The only time Sam could remember seeing Dean come so close to breaking down had been when their father had died, and even then Dean had managed to control himself long enough to put a bullet in Azazel's brain.

"It's okay," he assured Jess as she looked up at him, her eyes worried. "I'm okay," he forced a smile, and Sam could just see how hard she was trying to keep it together. But Jessica would have to be strong for all of them. And Sam couldn't bring himself to care about how pathetic it was, that three grown men had been reduced to a group of trembling children needing the comfort of a soul stronger than them. And Jess was strong. Sam knew, and was as always proud and thankful to have her with him.

With a small nod and a sad smile, she took his face in her hands and kissed him briefly before walking towards Dean. If circumstances were different, Sam would have teased his brother at just how fast he succumbed to Jessica's embrace.

The doors to the waiting room opened again to let in the essence of motherly concern blazing in Ellen's eyes, and Sam was pulled into another hug without a chance to say anything.

"Bobby called," she said after a moment, "Said you found him. I left Jo manning the bar, I needed to see for myself." Her amber eyes searched his for confirmation, and Sam nodded numbly, blinking away tears at the reminder of Cas's unmoving form. "How was he?"

"He was—" he stopped himself, swallowing thickly, "He was barely alive, Ellen." Because someone had to tell her. She'd come to think of Cas as a son, and Sam knew no one would stop her from knowing what had been done to him. She nodded, forcing a smile and gently pulling his hair from his forehead, but not pushing him for more information, thing he was very thankful for.

Glancing at Gabriel, he was surprised to see him looking up, and he followed his line of sight to find Emily. Dean had mentioned that she'd gotten really close to Cas in the past weeks, and that the girl had taken a hard hit when he'd been taken. She met Gabriel's eyes and immediately rushed to him, and Sam was once again surprised to see the shorter man stand and hug her tightly, holding her trembling frame close.

Someone cleared their throat, and six pairs of eyes looked up at the doctor standing by the door. Dean practically ran the man over in his rush to get to him, and they all followed close behind.

"How is he?" Dean all but demanded, voice hoarse like gravel, and Sam hid a wince at the sound of it.

"He's resting," the doctor soothed, "He lost a dangerous amount of blood, and he punctured a lung in two places, so needless to say, he'll be spending some time here." Sam tried to keep the feeling of hope from making it to his heart, and he could see the rest doing the same.

"But will he be okay?" Dean snapped.

"Yes." The doctor reassured them, for the first time allowing a small smile to lighten his face. "He'll have some pretty bad scarring on his back, but we're hoping that in a few weeks it will be mostly healed.

It was like a heavy load had been lifted from his lungs. Sam sagged in utter relief, and Jessica hugged him tight, her teary laugh muffled by his shirt.

Ellen practically crushed Dean under her motherly hug, and Emily seemed to be unable to choose whether to laugh or to cry as Gabriel held her with a relieved smile.

"Can we see him?" Dean asked, as soon as Ellen freed him.

The doctor hesitated, "Briefly, he just underwent intensive surgery, and I'd rather he get as much rest as he can for the rest of the night. Of course you'll be free to visit him as much as you want, starting tomorrow."

Gabriel looked at Dean and smiled, "You go." Dean's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Gabriel raised a hand to silence him, "Don't worry, I'll be nagging him non-stop come tomorrow morning." Something Sam couldn't quite recognize shined in Gabriel's eyes, "But I know you'll have an aneurysm if you don't see your boyfriend now, so go."

Dean didn't even bother to correct him before rushing down the hallway, and Sam was surprised to see Emily laugh. As he understood it, she had a pretty big crush on Cas. The fact that she understood just how much his brother needed Castiel (and vice versa) made him like her almost immediately. He vaguely remembered her from before she moved out of town, Dean having been the one that saved her from her deranged aunt and uncle. He was glad the innocence that had shined in her back then was still visible in her gray-blue eyes. It looked like, soon, the only bachelor left in their little trio would be Dean. He almost snorted at that.

He smiled as he watched Emily and Ellen talk; Ellen's mother-hen instincts kicking in almost instantly, and Sam could almost bet she'd known Emily since she was a little girl with pigtails. As he put an arm around Jess, feeling all the tension and worry leave her smaller frame, Sam leaned his cheek on her blond hair, kissing the top of her head as he allowed himself to relax as well.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriel approach the doctor with a careful expression, and it was only then that Sam remembered that Lucifer hadn't been dead when they brought him to the hospital. He'd stopped breathing on his way to the ambulance, but they'd reanimated him before getting him into surgery.

The doctor talked quietly back to Gabriel, and the shorter man nodded, his eyes on the floor. The doctor then put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, and gave him a few last reassuring words before excusing himself out of the room.

With a last kiss to Jessica's forehead, Sam walked slowly towards Gabe, not sure what to take from his expression.

"Gabriel?" golden eyes looked up at his, "Everything okay?"

Gabriel sighed, his tension at being called out dissipating slowly. Running a hand through his hair, he nodded, "Yeah. Just wanted to know how Luciu—Lucifer was." Gabriel clenched his jaw at his mistake, but Sam didn't call him on it. Sam watched as Gabriel's carefully built façade reconstructed itself in front of his eyes, and a very convincing but fake grin looked up to meet him, "Seems like I won't need your services just yet, Sammy. It's good, really. Fratricide wouldn't look too good in my curriculum; it puts people off their morning coffee."

Sam frowned at Gabriel's attempt to hide his emotions, but didn't say anything, instead opting for placing a heavy hand on the man's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Whatever you say, man. Just remember, if you need to talk, about _anything_," He made sure Gabriel's eyes met his, "Call me."

Gabriel snorted, but his mask cracked a little, "Wouldn't want to make the missus jealous, Gigantor." He teased as he turned away, "But I'll keep it in mind."

And Sam knew that he would.

* * *

Dean walked down the hallway, the room number the doctor had called after him echoing like a mantra inside his head.

_416, 416, 416, 416, 416…_

Once he found the damn room, he paused. With his hand on knob, Dean felt his heart thundering inside his ribcage. With a steadying breath, and with a mental reproach that sounded suspiciously like John Winchester—_"Man up, boy! Get a grip!"_—, Dean opened the door.

The sight that greeted him was one that shook him to the core. Castiel looked so _small_. So freaking vulnerable, and Dean would be damned if he ever had to see his friend look like that again. He was turned on his side, to avoid touching his back with the mattress, and while it seemed like he was breathing on his own, he still needed the aid of a nasal cannula. In the sickly light of the hospital, Dean was finally able to see the bruises on Castiel's face. One mean looking bruise with a few stitches were he guessed Uriel had hit him when he knocked Cas out; another along his jaw, which thankfully hadn't broken. It was the purplish marks of fingers around his neck that made Dean's hands clench with anger, however, and he wished he could just walk into Lucifer's room and shoot the son of a bitch in the head. Get rid of him for good.

As his eyes trailed over the bruises, he failed to notice as a pair of bleary blue eyes fluttered open, silently observing him as well. When he did notice, Dean felt himself tense slightly, but he brought up a smile for Cas's sake.

"Hey, Cas," he greeted quietly, closing the door behind him and walking over to him slowly, Castiel's eyes following his every move.

With a sigh, Dean sat down on the chair by his bed, not quite knowing how to break the silence, but it seemed like Cas was ready to beat him to it.

"You came for me." Jesus, his voice was rougher than ever. _He probably screamed himself hoarse for hours_. He closed his eyes, banning the thought from his mind, and managed a smile.

"Yeah," he swallowed, "'Course I did." He tried his hardest to meet Cas's eyes, but the doctor had warned him that he'd just undergone surgery, and would probably be out like a light in a few minutes. "I wouldn't leave you, buddy."

"Luc—" A flash of pain and betrayal shined in Castiel's glazed eyes, "Lucifer said he would…" Dean watched as Cas swallowed thickly, making an effort to work his numb tongue, and the steady beeping of his heart rate increased slightly with his distress at the memory. Worried, he reached out and put his hand on Cas's arm.

"Hey. I'm okay, right? Everybody's fine, nobody got hurt." He breathed out as Cas's heartbeat steadied. "Now just focus on getting better, dude." He tried to smile, he really did. "And as soon as you're well enough, we'll take you back home and we can celebrate Christmas like we'd been planning to do." Dean felt some of the pressure in his heart lift when the corner Cas's lips twitched upward, ever so slightly, but more than enough. "Ellen's already thinking of the food she's gonna have to force-feed you so you gain some weight." He chuckled.

Cas breathed out a raspy laugh, but it caught in his throat and he ended up coughing. With a wince, but with that small smile still there, he looked at Dean, "Stop being funny."

Dean wanted to hug him for trying so hard, but managed to smile shakily. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that." There was a knock on the door, and he turned around in a start. A nurse stood quietly with a small apologetic smile, and Dean knew it was time to go. With a nod, he turned back to his friend, noticing how Cas's eyes were already half closed. His eyes softened; idiot had probably forced himself to stay awake. "Gotta go, buddy." He moved his hand from Cas's arm to his shoulder, squeezing it gently, "I'll be back tomorrow, with Gabe and…" he grinned, "well, _everyone_ else. Be sure to get some rest, you won't get a second of that tomorrow." He winked and stood up, letting his hand fall back to his side.

"H-how's Gabriel?" Castiel's voice was slurred, the drugs taking effect.

"He's okay, Cas. A little shaken, but he's okay."

With a last effort, blue eyes looked up at him, "Emily?"

Dean smiled, "She's alright too. She'll be here to see you tomorrow, so you better get you beauty sleep."

With a small grateful smile, Castiel finally closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him, and Dean turned around with a sigh. "Thanks for letting me see him."

The nurse smiled sadly, "I'm sure he'll sleep much better after talking to you." She had a nice smile, and any other day, Dean would have been shamelessly checking her out. She was beautiful. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a few strands framing her heart-shaped face, brown eyes looking up warmly into his. Dean found himself smiling back.

"Still." He insisted, "Thank you." With a last nod, he walked back to the waiting room, knowing he'd have to face his Sasquatch brother and the rest of the troupe.

* * *

Lucifer stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought as quiet steps and the sound of a door being shut carefully snapped him out of it. He didn't have to look to know who it was; there was an aura of death that followed that man around, just as his darkness followed Lucifer wherever he went.

"I take it you had no problems getting here."

"None whatsoever. A fake ID will take you far nowadays, they weren't so easy to make in my day." Came the sickly amused response, a small smile pulled Lucifer's lips up.

"How long should I wait?"

"Eeeeh," he could almost see him moving his head in deliberation, "Couple of days, maybe," Lucifer didn't want to wait that long, the man knew it, he was playing around, "Although if you're willing to go through some discomfort, I might be able to get you out tomorrow."

"Before visiting time."

"Oh, yes," the lisp made his voice serpent-like, "It wouldn't do to have that little Winchester prowling around," he tutted. "I'm assuming you'll want to see that little celestial brother of yours, though, hmm?"

Lucifer chuckled, "Yes, if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not."

"Good."

He turned to look at his guest, the doctor scrubs made the tall, lanky man seem like a mad surgeon from one of those scary movies Gabriel liked to watch, the garment not enough to hide the maniacal glint in the man's clear gray eyes.

"I can always count on you to be efficient," he smiled, "Alastair."


	11. Heaven, I'm in Heaven

**A.N. **_Sorry for the delay and the short length. But I think I'm going to have to shorten chapters to around this length until the muse hits back like it used to, or I finish the story (whichever comes first). As always thank you so much for the reviews, they glare at me until I sit my ass down to write another chapter, so it's really all thanks to you guys! Please keep reading and commenting, it really makes my day :)_

_**A.N.2. **I hope I'm not the only one that found Alastair's little song in the show one of the creepiest yet most memorable moments of his character. Chills. I can't hear that song without thinking of him anymore.  
_

_**Disclaimer: **If only.  
_

* * *

Castiel's eyes felt heavy. He'd been awake for some time, but he couldn't quite get himself to open them. With a frown, he berated himself for being lazy and slowly opened his eyes. The room was a blur whites and grays, and turning his head to the left, he squinted and waited for his sight to settle. It was still dark outside, a rim of orange light glaring just over the rooftops near the hospital. Heaving a sigh, he winced. Some time during the night, he'd been moved to sleep to lie on his back, which he guessed meant the stitches would hold. With a glance down at his arm, he slowly balled his hand in a fist. His body was still numb from the painkillers, he noticed grimly, just not enough to completely null the throb of his ribs and his back.

"Good morning, Sunshine." A monotone voice he'd hoped to never hear again made Castiel's blood run cold. Closing his eyes, he tried to keep from drawing a deep breath.

"Lucifer." He swallowed dryly, his voice still painfully hoarse.

"Oooh, such a nice tune," I voice he didn't recognize slurred appreciatively. It made a shiver travel up his spine. "You've really had some fun with him. I can just _hear_ him screaming…mmm, how delightful."

Castiel clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes on the needle stuck in his arm, still hoping for their voices to be a hallucination.

"Alastair," Lucifer tutted in mock chastise, "Try not to upset my little brother," he could feel those gray-blue eyes on him, "He's had a hard couple of days."

Closing his eyes at the knowledge that this couldn't be a dream, Castiel finally turned to look at Lucifer. His brother was sitting on a wheelchair, that small smile plastered on his face while his eyes remained as cold as always. He was already dressed in normal clothes, a thick coat hanging from the back of the chair, and a green trucker hat on his lap. Behind Lucifer, a man dressed in doctor scrubs was smiling maliciously at him, the lazy but crazed look in his eyes making his heart shudder within his broken ribcage.

"What do you want?" he asked, hiding a wince at the feel of his parched throat.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly as he shrugged, "To say goodbye…I guess?" Castiel narrowed his eyes slightly, earning himself a snicker from Alastair.

"He doesn't trust you," he sang, a glimpse of twisted childlike wonder shinning in his eyes.

Lucifer sent Alastair a bored look before his eyes locked back on Castiel. "I know he doesn't, but I wouldn't lie to him." Finally directing his words at his brother, he added, "I've never lied to you, little Castiel, and I never will."

Castiel knew it was true. Messed up; but true. Still, his brother had a tendency to keep things from him without having to lie. He'd learned that the hard way.

"Maybe." He admitted, "But it doesn't mean you'll tell me everything. That you won't come back."

Lucifer's smile was answer enough, but Alastair's laughter only made the truth that much more horrifying.

"He knows you well, your little angel," he drawled, "Oh, he really _is _your brother. I like him." Castiel shuddered under the blood lust in Alastair's eyes, "Such promise…"

"Stand down, Alastair," for once in his life, his brother's possessiveness allowed Castiel to breathe more easily. Despite the amusement he still detected behind his cold eyes. "You know we have little time before the Winchesters and company get here."

Fear for his friends' lives clawed at Castiel's heart. And he wished more than ever that he were strong enough to keep Lucifer away from them.

"Pity," Alastair clicked his tongue, eying Castiel hungrily, "You'll have to promise me you'll let me play with him next time you pay a visit."

"That depends," Lucifer answered, like they were talking product, like he wasn't in the room, "But if his lesson remains unlearned, and I do end up coming back to this Godforsaken little town…" his eyes studied Castiel carefully, "Then I'll consider letting you borrow him for a bit."

The grin Alastair sent his way made Castiel shiver in utter fear of what this man could do to him.

"Now then, I bid you goodbye," Alastair started turning the wheelchair towards the door, "Little brother."

Castiel watched in tense silence as they slowly made their way out the room, feeling the scars on his back burn when Lucifer suddenly raised a hand to stop Alastair.

"Oh, one last thing," he glanced over his shoulder at the younger man, "Say hello to Michael and Gabriel for me." The half smile, ever-present on his otherwise inexpressive face, widened slightly. "I wouldn't talk to Dean about this too much, Castiel." Castiel felt his stomach drop at the insinuation, "My warning concerning him still stands."

And with that, Alastair and Lucifer disappeared, leaving Castiel to try to control his breathing as his body's nerves suddenly burned like they had when Lucifer had hurt him. Trying to get his breathing under control, he clenched his eyes shut, making sure not to breathe to hard for fear of the pain in his ribs.

He could almost hear Dean's voice in his mind at the situation at hand.

_Son of a bitch_.

* * *

Dean stepped out of the impala, taking a breath of the early morning air, fresh and cold from the snow that had fallen the night before. Turning green eyes to the hospital, he felt his lungs quiver at the thought of spending the whole day breathing in the smell of disinfectant. He hated hospitals. He only wanted for Cas to get better so that they could take him home and have Ellen's friggin' Christmas dinner.

The only good thing that could come out of a stay in that damn place was if the nurses were hot. Which...when he thought about it…this hospital wasn't completely lacking on. He hadn't really been looking the night before, but he recalled Cas's nurse to be pretty damn hot. He snorted.

_Ain't you a good friend, Winchester. Checking out your friend's nurse while he's knocked out in a hospital bed._

Locking the car and finally walking towards the dreaded building, he replied the short look he'd allowed himself when they'd talked. Hmm. Maybe he could even get something out of this goddamn place after all. He'd mention it to Cas first. Maybe. Not that the guy would mind, he already had Emily completely smitten with him. He grinned, not that the feeling wasn't mutual. Just talking about the sweet girl brought an unusual embarrassed look to Cas's eyes. He'd have to tell Gabriel to push a bit more with his matchmaking quest, it was clear the two already liked each other.

At the thought of the pie maker, he glanced down at his watch. Gabriel should be there by now. He hadn't paid attention in the parking lot, so he wasn't sure if the little man's car was there or not. Maybe he'd taken a bus. Guy was lazier than anyone Dean knew for anything that didn't involve sweets.

Walking into the main lobby, he checked with the receptionist for Cas's room, in case they'd changed him during the night. Dean didn't really know how these kinds of things worked, but he was damned if he was gonna get lost around here. Nope. Not him.

As he walked down the hallway to room 416, he nodded at a couple doctors and offered polite smiles to the nurses; some closer to grins depending on the packaging. It was practically second nature for him. Not much he could do about it or wanted to do about it.

Just a few doors away from Cas's room, he walked past a tall, lanky doctor and a guy on a wheelchair. The patient must have been ready to go home, he was already hidden in a thick coat, and had a trucker hat that shaded over his face. It almost made Dean think of Bobby, when the old man had broken his hip a few years ago and had been stuck on a wheelchair for three months.

A nightmare for him and anyone who worked with him.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the song the doctor was humming and mumbling, somewhat off key. He told himself not to stare. But it was really fucking creepy.

_Heaven... I'm in Heaven,  
And my heart beats so that I can…hardly speak...  
I seem to find the happiness I seek,  
When we're out together, and dancing…_

Dean's eyes met with the man's for a brief moment. It was less than a second but it was enough to make a chill run down the detective's spine. The look in the doctor's eyes was crazed if he ever so one.

…_cheek to cheek._

Clear gray eyes dug into Dean's, making him feel like the bird waiting for the cat to jump. He felt his shoulders tense as the man and his patient walked past him, breaking eye contact. Dean followed them with his eyes, looking slightly over his shoulder while neither stopped walking. Then it was like time went back to normal, and Dean turned his eyes forward, the eerily cheery whistling of the doctor fading as they disappeared towards the main lobby.

As he finally made it to Cas's room, he shook the odd and short encounter from his mind.

Castiel was on his back, which could only mean the stitches were well enough for him to not have to lie off of them. "Hey, Cas." He greeted, stopping slightly at the startled look in his friend's eyes. "You okay?"

The older man immediately relaxed upon seeing him, closing his eyes briefly before shifting into a more comfortable position with a small wince. "I'm fine."

"You supposed to be leaning on those? I thought your back was all stitched up." He commented, hoping to come off as casual as he sat down by his bed. Cas gave him a look, and somehow Dean knew Gabe had asked the same thing. With a sigh, Cas answered anyway.

"I woke up on my back, and the nurse hasn't said anything, so I assume it's okay."

Dean nodded, "Great. Awesome. So is Gabe here yet? He told me he'd come in as soon as visiting hours started."

"Yes. Gabriel is already on his way to empty the cafeteria of pastries and chocolates of every kind." There was a smile in his friend's eyes as he said this, which helped Dean finally relax into his seat. "He should be here soon."

The detective chuckled, "I'm sure he will." They stayed in a comfortable silence for a long moment, both turning to glance out the window. It had started snowing, and as he turned his eyes to his friend, Dean was glad it had. Cas loved snow. He enjoyed watching it fall while he worked in the café.

Going over their conversation, the nurse he'd met the day before came to mind again, and he found himself clearing his throat. Blue eyes turned from the window to meet his with their usual intensity.

"So, speaking of nurses," Castiel rose an eyebrow, because it was kind of late to be mentioning this, but didn't say anything. "Did you get lucky? Huh?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows with what Sam would call a shit-eating grin, "Did you get a hot, busty nurse?"

Amusement sparkled in Castiel's eyes, but his expression remained otherwise stoic. "Yes, I believe that's what you would classify her as, no doubt." And the bastard was playing with him. Cas had to know that he was only asking because he was interested himself. Sneaky nerd was not giving any details.

"So if I press the call button, she'll come right away, right?" he nodded to the right of Cas's bed.

"And what exactly would you tell her? I'm sure she has work to do, if you call her for nothing, she could get upset."

"Well then, I'll just have to clap you in the back a bit. You think she'll come then?"

"Most likely. To kick you out."

"Good, we could get some time alone."

"Unless she leaves you with security and stays to make sure I'm okay."

"Well, then…I uh—" he opened his mouth to find a way around it as Cas raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response and knowing full well he didn't have one. "Dude, stop raining on my parade! A man can dream, right?"

"Why dream when you can make it real?" came a teasing voice behind him, and Dean turned to give Gabriel a piece of his mind, only to see the nurse standing next to him, obvious amusement in her eyes. Gabe took a large bite of his chocolate bar, grinning at him and winking exaggeratedly as he walked past him to sit on Cas's bed. "Isn't that how the hallmark cards go?"

Dean felt a sheepish smile tug at his lips, a blush that was half anger at that bastard Gabriel and half embarrassment at being overheard tinting his cheeks and neck. "I uh…sorry about that." Gabriel snickered, and Dean was tempted to turn around and punch the dick in the face.

She smiled, an honest (if mischievous) dimpled smile that made odd things to Dean's stomach. "I'm not." And with that, she turned her eyes to Cas, back to the sweet, attending nurse, "Your brother seemed to have gotten lost in the cafeteria, thought I'd show him the way back to your room. Call if you need anything." With one last look at Dean, she was gone, leaving him staring after like an idiot.

Well damn.

"Ohoho, Winchester, you're either losing practice or you like Cassie's nurse a bit more than you thought." Gabriel guffawed. Dean fell back to his cool controlled self and sent a scowl the man's way.

"Shut up."

Gabriel grinned at him, obviously not falling for his façade but—thank God— deciding not to push. Turning to Cas, he patted his brother's leg.

"So, kiddo, I called the troupe while I was on my little supply run," Dean snorted. He was ignored, "Gigantor and his sweet angel will come for lunch, I'll go pick up Emily when they get here, and I think Ellen and Jo are coming around dinner. Ellen's dead set on giving you a decent home cooked meal instead of the crap they give here. I'll stay here and steal from your plate." He nodded at his own genius. "Good plan, I like it."

"'Course you do. Word of advice though," Dean said with a smirk, "If you want to have your balls, keep your hands to yourself."

The slight nervousness he noted in Gabriel's laugh told him the man knew that with Ellen, threats like that were no joke.

Castiel smiled at his brother, a small smile that would never take for granted after seeing his friend so broken.

They talked for the better part of an hour. Well. Gabriel and Dean talked, and Cas just listened or answered their questions as usual with few words and always straight to the point. Dean had feared that Cas would have closed off, but the detective had to marvel at his friend's strength. Acting normally after what he'd been through had to be a feat in and of itself. That Gabriel was being his usual self as well was more of a relief that he'd ever admit to.

When Bobby walked in, Gabriel was in the middle of impersonating Rufus as he demanded his morning coffee and complained at the fact that there was no alcohol in the café. The old man's serious mood sort of ruined the joke, and they all stopped like children being caught in a prank and looked sheepishly at him.

"Hey there, Chief," Gabriel greeted, shameless as usual. "Did your morning donut take longer than usual today? I thought you'd never make it!"

Bobby turned an annoyed look the man's way, "Well ain't you a funny man," he drawled sarcastically, "Idjit." Dean chuckled as Gabriel put on an offended face. The old detective walked over to stand by Dean's chair, allowing himself to show his concern as he looked at Cas. "How're you doing, son?"

Castiel gave the man one of his small smiles, "I'm fine, Bobby. Thank you." Everyone in the room knew Castiel was not referring to the question, but to having been saved from Lucifer. "No need for that, boy." Castiel lowered his eyes, like he didn't entirely agree but didn't want to upset him by voicing his thoughts. Bobby's eyes softened slightly, and he reached for Castiel's shoulder in a rare act of care, squeezing it reassuringly, "Family don't end in blood. And we don't leave family behind." Castiel's eyes snapped up to look at Bobby, wide and searching, like he really hadn't expected that Bobby considered him family, like he did Sam and Dean.

Dean smiled fondly at his friend, shaking his head slightly. Trust Cas to think himself a burden even after everyone assured him of the opposite. With a meek nod from Cas, Bobby let his hand fall back to his side and turned hazel eyes to look down at Dean. "Dean. A word?"

With a confused frown at the sudden severity in the old man's expression, he nodded and pushed himself up, "Sure." Patting Cas's shoulder, he gave him a brief smile, "Be right back."

He followed the older detective out of the room, closing the door quietly after them before turning to face him, "Alright, Bobby, what is it?" Bobby hesitated for a moment, and if that didn't put Dean on edge, then few other things did.

"It's Lucifer." Dean tensed, "He's gone."


	12. Echoes of a Song

**A.N. **_It's almost over! I'll probably write another chapter to finish everything up. Hope you like it! (Again, sorry for the delay). Please review! :3_

**Disclaimer:**_ Duh._

* * *

"_What_? What do you mean, _he's gone_?" Dean felt dread spread over him, a frightening beast looming over its prey.

"Should I say it in Spanish?" Bobby snapped, his annoyance muted by his own worry. "We can't be sure when it was, the doctor that was assigned to him is missing as well."

An echo of a sleazy voice started singing in the back of Dean's mind, drowning out Bobby's explanations until they were nothing but a muffled sound in his ears.

_Heaven…I'm in Heaven,_

_And my heart beats so that I can…hardly speak…_

Wide green eyes turned away from Bobby to look down the hallway, a phantom image of a tall figure pushing a wheelchair fading towards the lobby, the voice turning into an amused whistle that rang noisily inside his head.

Deaf to Bobby's angry words, Dean ran towards the main entrance, his heart irregular and loud, pulsing between his temples, that goddamn whistle haunting his mind even as he practically barged into the lobby and yelled urgently at the nurse in charge of reception. His own voice was practically drowned out by the drumming of his racing heart as the dread evolved into a gut wrenching fear and anger that had him clenching his fists on the desk, his knuckles a deadly, cold white. The nurse said something of the patient he was asking for being discharged early that morning and Dean slammed his fist on the surface of the desk, making the woman jump in fear and everyone turn to look at him in alarm as he bolted out the main entrance and towards the parking lot.

He ran into Sam, who immediately held onto Dean's arms to keep him from running away. Dean struggled against his brother, unaware of what he was yelling as he tried to rid himself of Sam's strong grip on his arms. He was vaguely aware of Sam calling his name and asking what was wrong, but Dean was too busy trying to shake his big hands off him. The scratchy, singing voice was still echoing inside his head and Dean _needed to find them_. _Him_.

Lucifer.

Lucifer was free.

Sam shook him roughly, and it seemed like the spell finally broke; Dean was no longer deaf to the world. His brother's voice rang through him and he froze.

"Dean! Stop! Just stop!" Green eyes met familiar hazel, and Dean felt his energy leave him as Sam searched his face frantically for answers. "Dean? What the hell happened? Is it Cas? Is he okay?"

The mention of Castiel was enough to bring him back completely, and he pushed himself away from Sam, taking a staggering step back. What the fuck was wrong with him? Dean stopped long enough to catch his breath before looking back into his brother's worried eyes.

"No, Cas is—" he rubbed his face, "He's okay. He's fine."

He saw Sam deflate with relief, only to tense again with anger at Dean's actions. "Well then, what the hell, Dean? Why are you running out of the hospital like a mad man?"

"Lucifer's gone." He blurted, feeling his anger come back at the thought of having passed the guy and not realized. If he wasn't pissed off as he was, Sam's face would have been hilarious, but Dean didn't find much funny at the moment.

"_What?_ What do you mean he's—_how_?" Sam took a step away from him to run a hand through his hair, obviously trying to stay calm himself, "Didn't they have someone watching him? How the hell did he just _leave_?"

"I think it was one of his guys." For some reason, seeing his brother's anger was enough to put Dean's own on the back-burner, and while his eyes were still dark with rage, his voice was steady, "Some psycho must have played doctor and gotten him out as soon as no one was lookin'." Sam frowned, studying Dean with a thoughtful expression.

"That makes sense," he admitted, "But you sound like you know this for sure…" Dean looked away, glaring at the parking lot, "Dean, did you _see _something?"

He could almost feel Sam give him a bitch face at his lack of answer. Screw him, Dean was busy glaring at the empty parking lot.

"_Dean_." Damn it.

"When I went to see Cas this morning," he started, voice low with anger at himself and whatever asshole had had the brilliant idea of getting Lucifer out, "I walked by this guy on a wheelchair," he rubbed his face, frustrated at his mistake, "He was all coated up to go outside, he had a hat on, I didn't see his face," he refused to look at Sam's face, "But the guy rolling him out, he was…" he chuckled without humor, "He was fucking _creepy_, Sam. I got chills just walking by him."

"Dean, are you…" See? No credit, "I mean, are you _sure_ that it was them? It could've just been a patient being checked out."

Looking up at Sam, he gave him one of his _no-bullshit _stares that usually made his brother back off. Predictably, Sam took a step back with a kicked puppy expression and intelligently decided to humor him, "Maybe we should take a look at the staff register." He paused. _Ding_! Light bulb. "Wait, you met them on your way to Cas's room…so do you think…" he hesitated. He was being thoughtful. Dean frowned; his patience was thin as it was.

"Spit it out, Sam."

"You think Lucifer went to see Cas?"

This is why Sam was called the smart brother. Damn him.

Dean's eyes widened slightly, thinking back to Castiel. He hadn't seemed shaken or scared, but if Cas had proved anything was that despite being practically unable to lie, he could hide what he was feeling with almost scary effectiveness.

"Let's go find out." Dean was practically inside the hospital by the time Sam caught up with him. For a guy with such long legs, he could be annoyingly slow.

As they made the way back to Cas's room—Dean ignoring the wary looks from the nurses in the lobby and Sam giving them his patented apologetic look—he noticed that Sam had come alone. So much for his trusty detective instincts.

"So where's Jess?"

Sam raised his eyebrows; seeming surprised that Dean had come off his one-track mind set to gank Lucifer.

"She had to stop at the school first. Kids are already on holidays, but the teachers have to make sure everything's in order for next year. She sort of…pushed it back when Cas went missing." He scratched the back of his neck, and cleared his throat, "She'll come once she's done with that."

Dean sighed, strangely relieved. Last thing he wanted was to freak Jessica out with their speculations on Lucifer's escape, and if they were going to question Cas, it was likely to get ugly. He felt guilt gnaw at him at the thought of reminding the guy of his psychotic brother, but they needed to know if Lucifer had visited Cas before disappearing. "Good…it's better if she's not here for this."

Sam nodded, obviously agreeing with him on this one.

* * *

Castiel couldn't quite get rid of the bad feeling on the back of his mind. Dean had run off somewhere, and Gabriel was outside trying to talk the reason out of Bobby.

Trying to think of an explanation for his unease, he found himself staring at the IV stuck in his arm. He'd had a nightmare earlier…Lucifer was there. And some other guy. Had he been asleep? Maybe he'd been hallucinating. He'd rather that not be true, but it made sense…right? Lucifer couldn't be up and around, he'd heard Gabriel ask his doctor about their brother, and they'd talked about some bullet wound.

The nurse that had walked in after his nightmare had told him that there was nothing to worry about and had given him another dose of morphine. His heart had kind of gone crazy for a moment. He frowned, it was all blurry…it hadn't been his nurse. Although he figured it made sense, he couldn't expect the poor woman to take care of him for hours on end. He could barely remember the nametag on her chest…what was it?

A knock on the door startled him out of his musings, and he looked up to see Sam and Dean standing at the doorway. He gave them a small smile, then narrowed his eyes. Sam looked worried, almost apologetic, and while Dean's face was harder to read, his eyes betrayed his true feelings. With a small frown, he tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

* * *

Gabriel looked away from Bobby at the sound of steps. He grinned at the sight of Gigantor following after his older brother and was about to throw a sarcastic line to initiate their usual banter when he took notice of the look in Sam's eyes. Patting Bobby on the shoulder, he immediately readied himself to deal with the giant puppy and his brother, whose eyes looked set on some goal that Gabriel just knew would not be a pleasant one.

"Hey, boys," he greeted, eyes careful despite the smile plastered on his face, "Sammy, you look like you swallowed a cactus, and your brother looks constipated again. Mind telling me what's going on?"

Dean barely met his eyes before going to Castiel's room, and Sam hesitated before following him. Worry started to nag at Gabriel as he watched Hackle and Jackle knock on the open door. Looking back at Bobby, he saw the frown on his old face. Nothing new there. But the way he was studying Sam and Dean made him think that the Chief had an idea of what the long faces were for. With a small frown, he walked back to Cas's room only to have Bobby stop him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe it's better if you let them talk to Cas alone, son."

Gabriel snorted. Right. Like that was going to happen. Shrugging the man's hand off, he followed after them and walked into the room only to see the careful look in Castiel's eyes. _Good job, guys. Way to go_. Like Castiel didn't have enough to worry about without these two drama queens.

He opened his mouth to let them know just how much they failed at being inconspicuous, but thought better of it at the warning look in Sam's eyes. Whatever they had to say, it wasn't going to be pretty. With a small sigh, he caught the worried look that Castiel sent his way and went to stand by his brother's bed, trying to offer him any assurance he could. But Gabriel didn't know what the brothers' were up to, and he was starting to get more worried by the second.

"So what's with you two yahoos? Whatever you have to say just spit it out already." Gabriel found himself reacting with anger at the uneasiness that their worry was causing his brother, and dropped his mask for the time being.

Sending him an annoyed look, Dean's eyes focused back on Cas, "I need to ask you a couple questions, Cas. They're not gonna be easy, but please, try to answer them…kay?"

Castiel's blue eyes were staring at Dean with their usual intensity, studying the younger man's expressions closely as he replied hoarsely, "Of course."

_Of course._

The silence in the room was only shattered by the regular beeping sound of the heart monitor, and the hesitant shuffling of Sam in the background.

Gabriel was about to snap at the detective to get on with it already before Dean beat him to the punch.

"Has Lucifer come see you today?" Gabriel felt the color drain from his face, and he could almost feel the tension in his brother's shoulders, his heart rate more elevated than just seconds before.

"…Lucifer?" Castiel's voice quivered slightly, and Gabriel glared at the brothers hard before putting a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "How woul—why?" the sudden fear in his brother's voice made Gabriel frown, and he looked down at him to see a light sheen of sweat already on his forehead, and squeezed his shoulder as he felt him start shaking. The beeping noise of the monitor kept getting faster.

"Castiel," his brother turned scared eyes up at him, "It's okay, you're safe here. Nothing's going to happen to you." Gold studied blue for a long moment, waiting for his heart rate to slow down a bit, "That's it, kiddo. You're alright." At the meek nod he got in response, Gabriel glanced briefly at the Winchesters before turning back to Castiel. "Just answer yes or no, Cassy. Did you see Lucifer today?"

The utter confusion in his brother's eyes broke his heart. Castiel looked down at the IV needle in his arm, opening his mouth several times before he actually managed to get a word out. "I—I thought it wasn't real—" the tension in the room increased tenfold, "The nurse told me—she gave me more morphine, she said I was just dreaming…" he frowned, raising a hand to rub his forehead uneasily.

"A nurse?" Dean's voice was closer, and Gabriel sent him a warning glare that stopped the man on his tracks, near the foot of Castiel's bed. "Cas, was this the same nurse from yesterday or a new one?"

"Different. She was…" Castiel looked lost in his own mind, obviously trying to make sense of his drugged memory, "Blonde?" He looked so lost.

"How about her name? Did you get a look at her nametag?" Sam asked, voice soft like he was talking to a cornered animal. At least the Sasquatch had more tact.

Castiel frowned, clenching his eyes and rubbing his forehead, like he had a headache, "I don't—I'm not sure I—"

"Just try to remember, Cas. Take your time, just…think."

"Lin—" he shook his head, "Lilith? I think it was Lilith." He let out a long breath, leaning back on his pillows. He seemed to be gaining back his control over himself, thing that both saddened and relieved Gabriel to no end. His brother's walls were coming up again. Strong and impenetrable. "She came in a few minutes after I…I saw Lucifer."

Gabriel squeezed Castiel's shoulder, a silent reassurance. His baby brother was so strong. So freaking brave. And Gabriel would be damned if he was going to be anything but the older brother he should have been for him all those years ago. After a short silence, Dean opened his mouth to ask something, glancing at Sam uneasily before turning his eyes back to Castiel's.

Surprising all of them, his brother was the one to start talking, eyes warm and voice soft. "What is it, Dean?"

"Cas, did you—" again, the detective paused, wetting his lips before looking intently at Castiel. "Was there someone else? With your brother?"

Gabriel frowned, and he could see the doubt in Sam's eyes, even as he turned to look at Castiel, eyes carefully analyzing his little brother's expression. The Sasquatch's face would have almost been funny. Only it really wasn't. Because his brother was nodding, and he looked scared again. Whoever this was, if Castiel looked this frightened even with his mask in place…Gabriel felt a shudder travel up his spine.

"A man." Castiel's eyes were on his lap as he talked, "He was…" he frowned, trying to remember, "dressed as a doctor." Gabriel didn't miss the brief meaningful look the Winchesters exchanged. "Lucifer called him Alastair."

Dean let out a breath, "Thanks, Cas."

Castiel nodded, giving him one of his non-smiles. And Gabriel had to wonder just how many of those smiles had been forced over the course of his life. How many times had his brother forced himself to smile before they actually started to look genuine?

Unable to stop the wave of bitterness that struck him, Gabriel's voice was cold as he said, "Well, not that this isn't a warm reunion or anything, but maybe you two oughta go get a coffee or something."

Castiel frowned, turning a squinty-eyed stare his way, and Sam looked hurt. Dean heaved a sigh and nodded. "I'll go get us some coffee. You stay, Sammy." Gabriel's eyes followed the detective as he walked closer to Castiel and gave him a smile, "Do they let you eat anything, Cas? I could get you something."

"Yes, please, the food they bring me is…" he wrinkled his nose, "not good."

Dean grinned, "You said it, man. You still have to stay here for a few days, but as soon as you're out, I'm taking out to get a decent meal."

A flash of playfulness in his blue eyes, Castiel tilted his head, eyes wide and puppy-like, "Or you could bring it here."

Pulling a surprised chuckle out of Dean and a smile from Sam, Castiel's lips curled up slightly, and Gabriel watched as a big chunk of tension left both Winchesters. Seriously, who was taking care of whom?

Patting his friend's leg, Dean shook his head, his smile more genuine this time, "Sure thing, Cas." His grin widened, "Forget about your crappy hospital-food tomorrow, dude. I'm bringing you a bacon cheeseburger."

"Right. Because that's such a _decent meal_." Sam snorted, amusement obvious in his eyes.

"Bite me, bitch."

"Jerk."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, hiding a grin. You really couldn't stay mad at these two for long. "Alright, Dean-o. Let's go raid the cafeteria for anything edible." Might as well use that time to ask Dean what he knew about Lucifer's escape.

Dean raised his eyebrows slightly at this, but read his intentions easily and nodded. Gabriel turned to Castiel and ruffled his hair. "You gonna be alright, kiddo? We won't take long, wouldn't want Ginormo over there to bore you to tears."

"Hey!"

Castiel shook his head, smiling at Sam before looking up at his older brother, "I'll be fine. Thankfully, Sam is more quiet than you."

Gabriel snorted, "Whatever you say, bro." he pointed at Sam, "Keep an eye on him Big Foot." Sam's indignant huff followed him to the door, where he saw Bobby waiting patiently (not) outside. "Well, hey there, Chief! Wanna join us on a little trip to the cafeteria?"

He saw Bobby's eyes shift to someplace over his shoulder, probably to check with Dean, before focusing back on him, "Sure, I guess." He shrugged.

With a laugh and a hard clap to the Chief's shoulder that earned him a glare, Gabriel speed-walked his way to the food aisle, Bobby and Dean following at a slower pace.

* * *

About a week later, Dean drove into the Hospital parking lot to get Cas and take him to a little lunch party that Ellen had demanded they have as soon as he was checked out. Lucifer's trail had gone cold, and while Dean was still dying to find the bastard, he was glad that they wouldn't be seeing Lucifer anytime soon. Hopefully ever. A couple days before, while he and Cas had been alone in his room, visiting hours almost over, Castiel had finally told him the reason behind Lucifer's last visit. They could only hope he was telling the truth, and that he believed that Cas had learned his lesson well enough for him not to have to come back. Still. Didn't mean they would not keep their eyes open. No one was taking Cas from them again.

Alastair and Lilith, as it turned out, really _had_ forged their way into the hospital, fake IDs and all. And what's even better. They had a criminal history too. Lucifer just had to be BFFs with two of the current biggest psychos on the country. Yippee.

Walking across the lobby, already familiar with the way to Cas's room, he ran into a familiar petite blonde.

"Oh, hey, Dean." She smiled, "Are you here to pick up Cas?"

"Yup." He grinned back, "Gotta take him to Ellen's little party or she'll have my ass for dinner." She chuckled, "We'll see you there, right?"

Emily had visited Cas practically as much as Dean had, which served for a lot of teasing and jokes from Sam and Gabriel about his mother-henning, but fuck them. Dean had walked in on Emily and Cas just talking quietly, all calm smiles, more than once. It had been a bit awkward at first, since neither of them knew what to say, and Emily hadn't really stopped worrying until the doctors and Cas's hot nurse (which he still had to learn the name of, because _wow_) had assured her—several times—that he was fine. But as the days went on, they'd grown comfortable in each other's presence again, and he'd seen Emily reach for Castiel's hand or brush the hair from his face in a gesture that was so natural it felt like they'd always been like this.

It was so sweet it was almost nauseating. But hell if Dean didn't think they were perfect for each other.

"Yeah, Gabriel and I are helping with desserts…" she glanced down at her watch, making a face and grinning sheepishly up at him, "And I'm totally late. Gabriel's gonna kill me." She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and started walking around him, "See you later, Dean!"

"Bye, Emily." He chuckled, watching her go with a smile before shaking his head and making the rest of the way to Cas's room.

He stepped inside to see Cas with his bare back turned to him, his stitched shoulder blades out for the world to see, and Dean couldn't hide a wince at the sight of them. Back stiff, Cas put on a white button down shirt, and while Dean couldn't see his face, he could imagine the thin line of his mouth and the hard press of his jaw as he tried not to react to the pain.

"Dean?" he suddenly asked, looking over his shoulder as he buttoned down his shirt.

"Hey, Cas." He greeted with a small wave, choosing not to comment on the wounds he hadn't seen since the day they'd found Castiel. "Emily bring you some clothes?"

"Yes, Gabriel gave them to her." he nodded, a grateful look at what Dean didn't mention, "I don't like the hospital gown." He adjusted his shoulders, "It's…unpleasant."

Dean chuckled, "Don't like the nurses ogling your behind, huh?" A flustered tinge of color tinted Cas's cheeks, and he rubbed his neck. Dean's face split in a grin, "Speaking of nurses," he glanced around to see a jacket and Cas's telltale trench coat hung over a chair. "Where's your hot nurse, buddy? She get tired of looking after you?"

Amusement behind his blue eyes, Castiel raised an eyebrow, "It wouldn't be me she's trying to get away from."

"Ouch." He put a hand to his chest, "That hurts, man."

"You'll survive." Castiel chuckled, walking around the bed to grab his jacket and coat.

"You get dressed all by yourself?" he teased, hiding his concern. "Or did Emily help you?"

"Your nurse helped me." His friend deadpanned, earning a gawking look from the detective.

"And I missed that? You could have told me." He whined. Cas was the only one he could openly do that with. That's what best friends were for, right? As far as everyone else was concerned, Dean Winchester was not a whiny bitch.

A mischievous glint gleamed in Castiel's eyes, "You just missed her. She left barely five minutes before you got here."

"Son of a bitch," he stomped his foot on the floor, "Thanks a lot, man." Castiel smiled, slowly and stiffly putting his jacket on. Dean didn't make to help him, knowing that Cas needed to do this by himself. "So, will you tell me her name now? Aren't nurses supposed to wear a name-tag or something, why doesn't _she _have one?"

"I believe she enjoys teasing with you." Castiel once again deadpanned. "And no, I will not tell you her name."

"Why not." He pouted. Another thing Dean Winchester didn't do. With anyone else but Cas.

"Because she asked me not to do so."

"Aw, come on!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"God, I hate you."

"I'm sure you do."

"Oh, you're so funny. Let's go, Colombo, I'm sick of this place already."

* * *

"Hey, Cas!" Sam greeted them as they entered the Roadhouse, "Good to see you up. How're you feeling?"

"Hello, Sam," Castiel's smile was wider than usual, affection and gratitude obvious in his eyes as he took on the people present farther back inside the bar, "I'm feeling alright."

"That's great, man," Sam was all grins and puppy eyes as he helped Cas out of his coat, "Come on, everyone's waiting."

"Back off, Samantha." Dean took Cas's arm and started leading him to the bar, "First things first. You need some booze."

Sam's laughter followed them to where Ellen was waiting with two beers. God bless Ellen. "Trying to get our boy drunk again?" She asked knowingly.

"Hey, he's on painkillers," Dean's face split in a shit-eating grin, "Might be my last chance."

Someone put an arm around both him and Castiel—careful not to touch the man's back—"His liver will fail before you manage to get him drunk." Jo snorted, "Hey, Cas." She grinned.

"Hello, Johanna." He smiled, knowing she hated it when he called her that.

"Any other day and I'd be beating your ass to the ground, _Cassy_." She narrowed her eyes good-humoredly.

"Is that my angel I hear?" Came from the far end of the bar, and Dean laughed at the nervous look Castiel directed at him and Sam. Momma Bear Jessica was coming their way. Fast.

"Hide me?"

"Not a chance."

"Cas, stop denying your love for me and give me a hug." Jess lectured him playfully before gently pulling him into her arms.

As usual, Cas stiffened slightly before returning the embrace.

Elbowing Sam in the ribs, Dean stage whispered, "Dude, I think you should reconsider your engagement. She's clearly not that into you."

Jessica narrowed her eyes at him over their friend's shoulder, kissing Castiel's cheek before letting him go and moving on to Dean, her voice overly sweet, "Your turn Deany dear." She sang.

Lifting his hands as a barrier, he stepped back, putting up a scared look, "Oh no. Please, no. I'll be good, I swear." His back ran into the ginormous wall that was his brother, and Sam held him in place. The traitor.

"Go get him."

"Thanks, baby."

"Aw, come on! That's cheating!" Dean complained, but when Jessica tackled him into a hug, he put his arms around her with a chuckle.

Once he was freed from Jessica's obligatory hug, Dean looked around to find Cas leaning on the bar, his beer already halfway finished. He was talking to Emily, who was tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling. Feeling a grin pull at his lips, he walked by, clearing his throat before mumbling the song, "_Love is in the air_…" he saw Emily blush furiously as he passed them, and looked over his shoulder to wink at Cas.

A couple of hours later, they were all making orgasmic sounds at the taste of Gabriel's pies (or at least Dean was, Ash joining in just for fun), when the door to the Roadhouse opened. Ellen had closed the bar in order to give this lunch-dinner welcome party, so anyone outside of their little (or not so much anymore) family shouldn't be coming in. Swallowing his last bite, Dean frowned and looked up, only to raise his eyebrows at who he saw looking around curiously.

It was Cas's nurse. And she looked drop-dead _gorgeous_ out of her scrubs. But what the hell was she doing there? Not that Dean was complaining. Glancing at Castiel, he saw his friend look away _discreetly_, lips twitching up.

Wow.

If he didn't know any better, he'd think Cas was setting him up with his hot nurse. Awesome. Sam was never gonna let him live it down. Awkward Castiel Novak playing matchmaker for Womanizer Dean Winchester. Someone up there wanted to make Dean the laughing stock of his little town.

"Dean, why don't you go see who it is?" Ellen interrupted his train of thought, and looking at her, Dean just _knew_ that she was in on it. Suddenly feeling everyone's side looks, he sent a glare Cas's way and stood up, walking towards the beautiful nurse, who watched amused as Dean flicked them off when they started with their whistling and cat calls.

Stupid bastards.

"Hey," she smiled, sly and confident.

"Hey," he grinned back, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Surprise, surprise." She raised her eyebrows, chuckling. "Before you blame Castiel. It was your brother's idea."

Sam. That bitch.

"That mean I get to know your name now?" he eyed her, letting all his seductive charm play its part.

"Rachel," she flirted back. God, she was beautiful. "Rachel McDowell."

"I take it you know my name by now."

Her smile widened, almost cat-like, and she leaned closer to his ear, "Oh, I know." And with that she walked towards the table. Not a shy bone in her body as the others whistled louder and laughed at the stunned look on his face.

Well, damn it, he might just be falling in love.

* * *

P.S. I kinda picture Rachel like Danneel. But you're free to see her anyway you like :3


	13. Little Brother

**A.N.** _Final chapter! Hope you like it, if it's absolutely terrible, do let me know, and I'll do my best to fix it. Thank you so much for reading this story!_

**Disclaimer:**_ Yeah, Supernatural's not mine._

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**_Six months later_**

Dean stumbled out of the bedroom, his short hair as disheveled as it could get, and tried to set his clothes back to _non-sexed-up_ look on his way to the door. Key word being _tried_. If the looks on Jessica and Emily's faces were anything to go by, he hadn't been entirely convincing.

At least Emily tried to hide her smile. Jessica was giving him a totally knowing grin that made Dean's ears burn.

"Uh…hello ladies." He cleared his throat.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything." Damn Jess. Well, two could play the same game.

"Nah, we're just about done. Give her a few minutes and she'll be ready." He replied with a sly grin.

Poor Emily went all red in the face, while Jessica narrowed her eyes before she burst out laughing and smacked his chest as she walked inside.

Around once a month, the girls made a little sleep over to braid their hair and watched chick flicks, ice cream included…but most importantly, _gossip_. Jess got to hear all sorts of things when the moms dropped off their kids at school, Emily was basically the confidant of every woman who walked into Gabriel's café, and Rachel was a _nurse_. Needless to say, she came across such an amount of gossip in a single day that was more than enough to make Dean's ears start hurting by the time she got to the second rumor.

When the girls had their monthly get-togethers, Dean, Sam and Cas took a couple days to do manly stuff. At least that's what Dean liked to think. If it were up to Sam, they'd spend the day discussing politics and his cases. Poor Cas was too nice to ever tell Sam to shut up (and Sam had been deprived of a good listener to drop his ranting on for years, apparently, because he often took time to see Cas and give him the weekly update on his lawyer-life). Dean had more than once taken it upon himself to rescue his friend from Gigantor and go out to get a greasy and delicious cheeseburger; which was about the one thing that might keep his brother away.

"So, I take it you guys will be staying at Cas's again." Jess grinned as she went to sit in the living room. Glancing up at Emily, who was walking over to sit next to her, she gave her a sympathetic look, "I don't know how you stand for this, Emy."

Dean sent a mock glare her way, and Emily laughed as she sat down, "Oh, they're not that bad." She glanced up at Dean, "They know not to make a mess if they want to have the house for their manly reunions."

The detective raised his eyebrows, "Wow, Emily, is that a threat?"

Emily grinned, and Jessica laughed and put an arm around her friend, "She's learning."

"Are you bullying the girls again, babe?" An amused voice called from behind, making Dean suppress a smile before looking over his shoulder at Rachel.

"I think it's fair to say they're the ones bullying _me_ at this point."

"Oh, your poor ego," she cooed as she stood on the tip of her toes to kiss his cheek. "Nothing a night with the boys won't cure."

"Kicking me out, already? Alright, I see how it is." He nodded, smiling at their laughter before grabbing his duffel from the nearest armchair. "I'll see you ladies tomorrow then." He pointed at them, narrowing his eyes, "There better be ice cream left when I get back."

They waited until he was practically out the door to yell, "Don't count on it!"

* * *

Sam jumped to his feet at the sound of the doorbell. "I got it!" he yelled towards the kitchen, where Cas was finishing with the pizza and the Buffalo wings. They never ordered for these nights unless they were in the mood for a feast. Cas was really a great cook, and they'd discovered that he made a mouthwatering pizza. Of course, when Dean had found out that he also knew how to make chicken wings, he'd de-aged back to a five-year-old and demanded they have them every time the girls kicked them out for their monthly meet.

"I come bearing beer." Dean raised two six-packs as he strode past him and dropped his bag on the way to the kitchen.

Rolling his eyes with a smile, Sam grabbed the bag and took it to the living room before following his brother. Dean was looking over Castiel's shoulder at the pizza that had yet to be put in the oven.

"Did you put extra cheese on it?"

"Yes, Dean."

"What about sausage?"

"If you can't see it, I seriously worry about the state of your eyesight."

"Not my fault it looks weird before you put it in the oven."

"That's a sad excuse."

"Chicken-wings?"

"Almost ready."

"Can I—"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

"No."

"Are you sure they're not ready? They smell ready."

"They are not ready, Dean."

"…How about the pie?"

"It's in the fridge."

"Awesome!"

Sam watched with amusement as Castiel threw a wooden spoon over his shoulder that hit Dean right on the back of his head before he'd even reached for the fridge. Without looking away from the pizza.

"Ow! Cas, what the hell!"

"Stay away from the pie."

"I was just gonna put the b—"

"Sam, could you put the beers in the fridge, please?"

"Sure thing, Cas." Dean gawked at the unfairness of this and immediately pointed an offended finger at Sam as he stomped back to Cas.

"_What?_ How come you let _Sam_ open the fridge?"

"I trust him not to eat the pie."

Sam met Dean's glare as he opened the fridge and gave him a nice view of the apple pie sitting proudly inside, before putting the beers in and closing it with a grin.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Both brothers hid their grins, Dean going back to pestering Cas about being hungry and Sam leaning on the counter. He never got tired of watching Dean and Castiel. His brother, for all that he joked around, was a very private person. He never completely let go of the soldier-persona that their father had trained him to develop. True, he relaxed when he was alone with Sam, but there was still that constant worry and protective look in his eyes that had been ingrained in him since they were kids.

It was different with Cas.

They were so at ease with each other that Sam had actually wondered at one point if they were more than friends. And, in a way, they _were_. Despite his _no-chick-flick-moments_ motto, Dean was a pretty physical person; but it seemed like the older Winchester had grown to consider that a weakness. Or maybe it made him feel vulnerable. Over the past year and a half, Sam had watched as Dean went from putting a hand on Cas's shoulder, to pulling him into the tight hugs Dean only ever shared with family. Hell, upon discovering that Castiel was ticklish, Dean had practically tackled their friend to the ground in an outburst of playfulness that Sam hadn't seen in Dean since they were kids.

As Cas slapped Dean's hand away from the smoking chicken-wings while closing the oven with his foot, Sam found himself thinking of the Rachel and Emily. He and Jess had been worried that they wouldn't understand this…_bond_ that Dean and Castiel shared. It could easily be mistaken for something it wasn't, and the last thing they wanted was for them to try and keep Dean and Cas away from each other. But Sam had been happy to be proved wrong.

Around New Year's Eve, Dean managed to get Cas the closest to drunk they've ever seen. Which is really just sort of tipsy. But for Cas that's like being shitfaced, so Dean and Gabriel were excited like a couple of kids on Christmas morning. Turns out Cas's Achilles' heel was purple nurples. Sam was scared to even think of what they put in that stuff. Sam heard Cas laugh more times that evening than in the year or so he'd known him before that. Dean of course only thought it fair to join him. When they all woke up late the morning of January 1st it was to find Dean and Cas snuggled together on the couch, practically sprawled one over the other. They were both absolutely dead to the world, and Sam can't remember seeing Dean look so peaceful in _years_—he also realized just how young Cas looks when all his walls are down. He looked like a child.

Sam and Jessica had looked at Emily and Rachel with worry, scared of what their reaction would be. Rachel had cooed and awwwed, and didn't stop talking of how cute they were for at least another hour. Emily had just smiled fondly and covered them both with a blanket. Sam would have to thank them both for understanding his brother and his friend so well.

"Dean, stop flirting with my lil' bro!" Dean all but jumped three feet in the air and turned around with a glare already firmly in place while the grinning pie maker observed with obvious satisfaction.

"Damn it Gabriel! Will you quit doing that!"

"Aww, come on, Dean-o!" Gabriel teased as he hopped onto the counter next to Sam. "You're too tense. You gotta lighten up, kiddo!"

"He's just pissed he's lost his touch." Sam snorted.

That turned the glare towards Sam, "I did not lose my touch. You two are just friggin' ninjas." He grumbled, crossing his arms like a perfectly mature man.

"Runs in the family." Gabriel shrugged, jumping down to stand at Castiel's other side. Without even bothering to be quick, he took a chicken wing and started gnawing on it.

Dean gaped like a goldfish for the better part of a minute before pointing at Gabriel indignantly. "Oh, so Gabriel can eat and I can't?"

Castiel took the chicken wings and turned towards them, then tilted his head, blue eyes wide and innocent. "But they're ready."

The small twitch of Cas's lips betrayed his innocence however, and Dean deflated and grabbed a wing, glaring halfheartedly at everyone before making his way towards the living room. "I hate you all."

"I guess Gabriel can have the rest then."

"I lied! Love you, Cas!"

* * *

Hours later, Sam was snoring away on the floor, tangled in a bunch of blankets and pillows. Gabriel had managed to defend one of the sofas from the evil Gigantor—Or Moose, like Crowley liked to call him; a nickname that Gabriel had fallen in love with from day one—and was sleeping comfortably in a bundle of blankets.

Dean stared at the ceiling, listening to the choir of snores in the room but unable to let sleep take him. Rolling over on his side, he looked at the abandoned blankets where Cas had been faking sleep until about an hour ago. Dean knew he did it every couple of weeks—more often when he was stressed or stricken by nightmares—, and always when they got together like this. Sometimes, Dean would fake sleep and wait until Cas came back and actually fell asleep. Other times however…he gave him some time before following him.

Heaving a quiet sigh, he stood and glanced at Sam and Gabriel one last time before quietly walking up the stairs to Cas' bathroom. A small smile tugged on his lips when he saw that the door was no completely closed, and he put a hand on the knob and slowly pushed it open.

Castiel stood shirtless with his back to the mirror, a hand on the scar on his side, his head turned to look at his reflection.

The scars on his shoulder blades were not that ugly stitched up mess they were when he'd left the hospital. The traces of Lucifer's torture had been reduced to pale rough patches of skin where bloody wounds had once attempted to drain the life from his friend.

"They look better." His voice was soft, whispering despite the safe distance between them and their brothers. Castiel met his eyes in the mirror and sighed, turning to face him.

"Yes…" he reached back over his shoulder to touch one of the scars. "I don't think I'll ever grow to like them though."

Taking this as an invitation, Dean stepped inside and closed the door behind him, leaning on it as Cas turned again to look at his back on the mirror. "Maybe in a few years," he tried to reassure him, "Getting used to scars like that takes time."

Giving up on his examination, Cas deflated and looked down, running a hand over the smaller scar on his abdomen. "Maybe."

Dean pushed himself off the door and walked behind his friend, raising a hand to his shoulder blades but not quite touching the marks of paler skin. "Do they still hurt?"

Castiel's voice was close to a whisper when he answered, "When it rains." His shoulders shook in a small chuckle, "Gabriel says I'm more reliable than the weather channel."

"You'd think he'd never miss it with all the crap he watches on TV." Dean smiled, and Castiel laughed quietly.

They stood in silence for a long moment. Dean would never really get used to how comfortable he was with Cas, especially in moments as intimate as this. It was something they never talked about, once they went back to their brothers and girlfriends they were back to the sarcastic detective and the quiet baker.

"Dean," Castiel's hesitant voice broke the stillness. Dean already knew what his friend would ask. But he replied anyway.

"What?"

"Do you think…" he took a breath, "Do you think Lucifer will really leave me alone this time?"

Blue eyes met green in the mirror, pleading for honesty but hoping for reassurance at the same time. Dean heaved a sigh and finally let his hand touch the marred skin of Castiel's back, noting that he didn't tense like he used to.

"I don't know, Cas." He wouldn't lie to Castiel. Not about this. "I really hope to God he won't show his ass around here again. But I don't know."

Castiel nodded, and they sank back into a brief silence.

It was Dean who broke it this time.

"But if he does decide to pay you another visit," he assured, his voice rougher, not whispering anymore, "He's gonna get what's comin' to him. Crowley's got his ears open for any rumor of him going anywhere, and you know the annoying son of a bitch has good sources." He moved his hand to Castiel's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, "And Mike's finally got his head out of his ass and has put people around to make sure he doesn't step into town without being noticed. Still haven't met that ninja turtle brother of yours, but I'm sure he's getting something done too." He turned the man around to look at him directly in the eyes, "You're not alone this time, Cas. If that bastard tries to take you again, we'll be ready."

Castiel's mask broke just long enough for Dean to see the scared child looking up at him with hopeful eyes, but the walls closed off soon enough, and the only thing he could see in Cas's eyes was his genuine gratitude.

"Thank you." He closed his eyes briefly before glancing up at him again with a small smile.

"Don't mention it, man." Dean grinned back. "Now put your shirt on, I'm kinda hungry. Is there some of that pie left?"

"I think Sam's right. You have a black hole in your stomach." Castiel chuckled as they walked downstairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another town, in a different state, a man sat at a table in a barely lit room. Scattered over the table were pictures of a young boy. A small figure with a mop of dark hair and sparkling blue eyes as the child smiled at the camera.

Pale cheeks that were still round with youth were pinched by an older girl with fiery red hair, while in another one they were covered in chocolate as the child grinned at a boy with dark blond hair and mischievous eyes.

A young man just out of his teens—his hair the same dark color, and his eyes a darker blue—sat with the boy on his lap next to a dark skinned teenager struggling with his homework.

In the picture at the center, the boy was still just a toddler, held up high over a teenager's blond head, mouth open in shrieking laughter, his happiness mirrored by the wide smile on the blonde's face.

Lucifer glanced at the pictures with a wistful smile, his eyes lingering on the picture in the center. The smile faded as he glanced at the picture in his hand.

And old photograph of the whole family smiled back at him, he barely paid attention to the children, his eyes focusing on the beautiful woman sitting with a baby in her arms. Her hair dark like the eldest's, her eyes an ocean blue that shinned with the beauty of a new mother. Despite her happiness, she was pale, and the lines of exhaustion and sickness were easy to detect on her face if one knew to look for them.

To her left stood a man in an expensive-looking suit. His back straight and his hand placed solemnly on young Lucius' shoulder. The boy was beaming with pride at his father's favor, and expression that seemed unnoticed by the older blond man, turning a small smile to the camera.

His other hand was on his wife's shoulder, and the baby's eyes seemed full of curiosity as they studied the pristine hand on his mother.

A small smile threatened to pull through on Lucifer's face for a moment, but it died quickly.

Set to the side were three pictures.

One of a teenage boy with dark hair who couldn't have been over fifteen. A shredded t-shirt had been used as a makeshift gag, and his hands and legs were tied to the bedposts. The boy's face was flushed, his eyes looking agonized and pleading at the camera while tears streamed down his face. His narrow back was covered in blood from two long gashes on his shoulder blades, and an invasive hand that Lucifer had outgrown years ago was pulling the boy's pants down.

Lucifer looked at the picture, little Castiel's screams still fresh in his mind. He'd truly broken the boy then.

The second, newer picture no longer held a boy but a man, his hair a familiar dark color and his eyes a furious blue as they glared at the camera, no gag to keep him from screaming to his heart content this time but his jaws clenched tight in an obvious sign of resistance. There was no sign of that innocent boy in those eyes. No useless hope or pleads for mercy in the way his shoulder tensed as the knife reopened the wounds of his youth.

In the last photograph, his brother lied unconscious on the bloodied bed. His shoulders slack, his resistance gone. The fight had left his face, his sweaty bangs stuck to his forehead and his cheeks pale. But not even then did Castiel look like the child he'd been. The pain was still there, in the almost natural frown of his brows and the lines of agony over his face. He'd torn their father's grace out of his brother. He'd saved him. He'd made him fall.

His brother would be okay now.

Castiel would be alright now.

With a final smile, Lucifer tossed the pictures with the others and lit a match, letting it fall on what was left of his brother's innocence.

"You'll be alright now," he whispered, "Little brother."

THE END

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**A.N.** _I know it's a REALLY open ending, but I hope it's not too bad. Again, please let me know if it sucks (although feel free to tell me if it doesn't too :3)_

**A.N.2. **_I tried giving Dean and Cas a more intimate (cough-slash) moment, since some of you mentioned you'd hoped they'd get together. I kinda wanted to, but I'd already done the plot with Emily and Ray, and I didn't really wanna have to kill them off. I kinda like them. (Although if you're reading my other SPN story...I think I might give it a little push that way, SHHH).__  
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**THANK YOU**_**  
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